Twisted Fate
by wanderingsilverrose
Summary: Cari is just your average high school girl. Or at least, she is until right after her perfect day with the boy she loves dearly. That very night, she is purged into a dangerous new world. One full of magic and blood. As she learns of the creatures that exist within this world, she learns a lot more about the people around her than she ever expected. (AU/OCs involved; no Disney)
1. Chapter 1-The Almost Perfect Day

**Note: Ok, don't worry. It starts off with an original character, but I swear you will quickly see the Kingdom Hearts cast. You'll have to excuse the fact that Final Fantasy characters don't show up for a while. Most of the Final Fantasy characters will from Final Fantasy VII. Also, I'd like you to know that this is the rewrite of an older story. If you have any questions, please ask and I'll answer them the best I can. Happy reading!**

Chapter 1: The Almost Perfect Day

Cari stepped outside onto the deck, a wide smile on her face, and her long brown hair pulled back into a tight bun, even though she wasn't even going to have it that way later. Today was absolutely gorgeous, just like everyone predicted. The perfect day to go to the beach with friends. And a certain boy she liked, who was fortunately approved of by her somewhat uptight, and very protective, dad.

Zexion was everything Cari loved. He was smart, polite, always had some sort of book with him, and not to mention that half the girls in school wanted him. And Cari had finally gotten enough courage to go talk to him the other day, that just so happened to be the last day of school before summer break. Although it was partially due to her bumping into his friend. But they'd still agreed to go to the beach together.

Ok, so maybe it wasn't a date like she'd wanted, because they were going with a group of friends. But they were going together all the same. And Cari was just brimming with excitement. She felt like if she was any more excited, she'd explode into confetti.

It had taken her almost the entire day yesterday to get ready for this afternoon. And her dad was clueless as to why she needed everything to be perfect. Even after she had explained to him that a girl's first date—pseudo-date as it was—was extremely important. And that she'd inherited her near perfectionist ways from him.

She needed it to be just right, and her one-piece swim suit, no matter how cute it was, just wouldn't do. So she ended up going to the mall to get a bikini. She even got a new beach towel and summer outfit, with a really cute pair of sandals. Although finding the perfect things to wear today was hardly what anyone would have called easy. Her own best friend could attest to that—seeing as she had carefully contemplated everything there that she could choose from.

"Cari, I need to see you a minute", a slightly shrill voice called from inside.

Cari turned around and went back inside to find her dad sitting at the kitchen table, with his long, blond hair still pulled back from his last experiment early this morning. "What is it", she asked.

"I just wanted to go over a few rules with you again before you go to the beach", he said. "First off, you must be home-"

"By 10:30, I know", Cari said, crossing her arms. "Dad, we've been through this at least twenty times since I told you about this. I know, practice safety and don't get hurt. Behave. Don't cause any scenes. Don't be reckless. Be polite. I'm not five anymore." She sighed. "I'm not going to get myself killed at the beach. So don't worry so much."

Vexen closed his mouth in a frown. She was exactly like her mom, and not a single difference between them. She was stubborn, sassy, a bit rebellious, and they looked exactly alike. Sometimes he swore her mom was still with them, living inside of Cari. Although considering all the possibilities, there was always that small chance.

"Dad, just let me have some fun without you telling me what not to do a million times", said Cari. "Like I said, I'm not five anymore and I don't need someone constantly holding my hand."

"I just want to make sure you're safe", said Vexen. "I don't want you to…"

"End up like Mom", Cari said, a tone of sadness in her voice. She looked away from Vexen. "I know." She turned to leave. The brief mention of her mom, as much as she loved her, was depressing. "I'm going to go get ready now. Zexion will be here in a half hour." She quickly headed back to her bedroom to get changed.

* * *

The doorbell rang and Cari went to open it. She blushed when she saw her slate blue haired dream boy smiling at her. She loved that smile of his. It made her feel so happy when she saw it, because it was such a soft smile, unlike some of the overly-wide grins that some of her friends used. And really, she couldn't imagine his smile being anything other than what it was.

"Hi, Zexion", she said nervously. "Would you like to come in for a few minutes?"

"Hi, Cari", said Zexion. "Thank you. That would be nice."

Cari led Zexion into the living room and they sat down on the couch. "So, um… How are you today", she asked awkwardly. She wasn't used to interacting with him.

"I'm doing alright", Zexion replied. "And you? Are you ready to go to the beach?"

"Yeah", Cari said, resting her hand on her red duffel bag. "I'm really exited." She glanced around the living room, looking to see if Vexen was back out of his room. "What's taking Dad so long? What's he doing?"

"He'll be out soon enough", said Zexion. He glanced at her clothes. "You look nice today."

"Oh, thanks." She blushed again. "I just bought these clothes yesterday", she admitted. "I wanted something new to wear today."

Both Cari and Zexion turned to face Vexen as he finally came out into the living room. He sat down in one of the chairs, and stared at the both of them intently. Zexion's face flushed a bit as Vexen turned his gaze completely onto him. Cari could almost swear that he was doing it to make Zexion uncomfortable. Although why he would was another story entirely.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Neil", Zexion asked.

Cari started laughing. "No, nothing's wrong", she said. Zexion looked at her. "He's probably just doing it to freak you out." She rolled her eyes when Vexen looked at her, too. "Dad, I'm kidding."

"Just make sure she's safe", Vexen said, looking back at Zexion.

"Of course", said Zexion. "While I'm with her, she'll be fine. And I'll make sure she doesn't leave my sight unless it's an emergency."

Cari blushed. He would keep a close eye on her the entire time she was with him. That was so sweet. "Ok", she said. She stood up and grabbed her bag. "Now that that's taken care of, should we get going?"

Zexion stood up as well and smiled at her. "Sure", he said. "We don't want to keep everyone waiting." He looked back at Vexen. "I'll have her home before 10:00."

Cari giggled. "Actually, Zexion, curfew is 10:30", she said.

"Oh, alright", said Zexion. "That makes things nicer. It means we get to spend longer together."

Cari blushed, again. He was so cute. And he seemed to be flirting with her? She felt a little light-headed just thinking about it. "Ok, let's go then", she said.

* * *

Zexion watched Cari as she stepped out of the restroom. She was so beautiful, and she was his. At least for today. He couldn't take his eyes off her. That black and silver crescent bikini fit her so well. It definitely gave him a different view of her than from whenever else he saw her. But then it was also only natural—this wasn't her at school. She was about to spend the day at the beach with friends.

Cari stepped out of the restroom and blushed when she saw Zexion standing there in just his swimming trunks. He looked so good today. That was one more thing to add to the list of why she loved him. She was so happy to be there with him. And she would simply squeal with joy if she could be his. He was everything that she loved and more.

"Ok, Zexion", she said, laughing. "Stop staring like an idiot and let's go. Everyone else is waiting for us."

She grabbed his hand and he let her pull him towards the water. They passed several families and laughing kids and finally reached a group of people all about their age. Some a little older, and some younger. They all looked a little awkward together. As far as first looks went. They looked like they wouldn't be seen together normally. But if you looked close enough, you could tell they were closer than family.

There was a gangly boy with red, almost porcupine style hair talking with a black haired girl, a girl with long blond hair, and anther boy with spiky blond hair. A girl with magenta hair and bright blue eyes was chatting with another girl with blond hair. And a man with long, pink feather-like hair was laughing with a caramel haired boy, a boy with an odd mullet hairstyle, and a tall boy with an eye patch covering one eye. One had to wonder what had happened—he never did tell anyone.

The boy with the eye patch looked over at Cari and Zexion, who had both just arrived. He smiled. "Well, looks like the final couple has arrived", he said teasingly. Everyone else looked at them.

Cari blushed. "Xigbar", she pouted. "Do you have to be so embarrassing?"

Xigbar pretended to think. "Yes", he said. "Just because it's so easy to do."

"Come on, Xigbar", said the one blond, the one who had just grabbed the porcupine's hand. "This is their first date."

Cari rolled her eyes. "And you're no better, Yuki", she said.

Yuki laughed. "Yeah, and you still love me", she said.

"No one can hate you", the porcupine said, wrapping his arms around Yuki's shoulders. "For one, you're too cute."

"Aw, thanks Axy", Yuki said, looking up at the boy.

Cari looked over at Zexion, who's face was also a light red. She poked him and laughed when he blushed more. "Zexy, why don't we find a more peaceful spot", she joked. "Somewhere we won't be teased."

The boy with the mullet whined at Cari. "Oh, come on, you just got here!"

"I'm fairly certain she's kidding", said Zexion.

"Yes, I'm kidding", said Cari. "Demyx, you shouldn't think I'd want to ditch my friends."

Demyx blushed. "Oh", he said. Everyone laughed at his blank face and went back to what they were doing.

"Demyx, you're really cute when you blush", said Cari. "Just like a little kid in a candy store." She and Zexion went and set their towels on the sand.

Zexion looked at her once they sat down on the beach. "So do you like Demyx", he asked as calmly as possible. He couldn't help feeling a little disheartened after Cari's last comment to Demyx. Did she see the tall boy as more than just a friend?

Cari looked at Demyx and smiled innocently. "He's like a younger brother to me", she said. "So yeah. I do like him."

Zexion smiled in relief. "Oh, that's nice", he said. "So it's not like a crush."

Cari giggled a bit. "No, it's not", she said. "I've got my sights set on someone else." She sighed happily. "He's everything I love. But I'm not sure if he feels the same about me. I mean, from what I could tell, he's nice to everyone who's nice to him."

"Who is it", asked Zexion. His heart dropped again. It could be anyone now. And she could probably have any boy in school she wanted. At least, that was his opinion.

Cari smiled at Zexion. "If you really want to know," she said, "ask me later. When we're alone. Because I'm just too shy to say it now."

* * *

Cari and Zexion sat alone farther along the beach line where everyone else looked like ants. Their friends had already left to get some dinner, and had left the two alone. They had decided to move away from all the noise, and came over here. Where it was peaceful and they could watch the sun begin to set.

Zexion looked at Cari. "Ok," he said, "now that we're alone, tell me. Who is it you like?"

Cari blushed and looked at Zexion for a split second, and then looked back at the water. "You really do want to know, then", she said. She looked at Zexion and smiled sweetly. "Well, he's got beautiful eyes that seem to hold so much knowledge. And a very sweet smile that could make any girl melt. Awesome hair." She closed her eyes and leaned back a bit. "He's amazing. He's really smart. Polite. And he's…"

Zexion was getting impatient. He needed to know who Cari liked. And she was beating around the bush—making a list of this boy's attributes. But he needed to stay calm. Because it wasn't like him to be otherwise. "He sounds like a good person", he said.

"Yeah", Cari said looking back out to the setting sun. She frowned. "But like I said. I don't know if he likes me."

"I don't see how he couldn't", said Zexion. Cari looked back at him with a confused expression. He blushed lightly. "You're such an amazing person. You're kind, polite, funny. The list could probably go on forever."

"You think so", asked Cari.

"Yes, I do", said Zexion. "So he'd have to be a fool not to love you." He smirked. "Now, are you going to tell me who he is? Or do I have to find a way to get the answer out of you?"

Cari smiled sweetly. "Pop quiz", she said. "He's got gorgeous deep blue eyes."

"Do we really need to play a guessing game", Zexion finally asked impatiently.

Cari smirked and ran her hand into Zexion's hair. She blushed madly. "And soft slate blue hair", she said. "Can you guess who it is now?"

Zexion caught his breath for a second. "Is it me", he asked softly.

"That's a perfect score", said Cari.

"Good", Zexion said smirking. "Because if it wasn't, I'm not sure what I'd do. I suppose you could say I'm the jealous type." He leaned in closer to Cari and gently kissed her lips. He pulled back. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

"No", said Cari. "But I know I've been waiting for half of my life." She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her. "Since fifth grade, actually." She kissed him sweetly and passionately, and he quickly kissed back.

Zexion pulled away and blushed. "Really", he asked. "I had begun to worry you would never talk to me."

Cari giggled and smiled at Zexion. He was definitely the one for her. She rubbed his hair a bit. "Silly Zexy", she said. "I was just being shy. I thought about you almost constantly."

* * *

Zexion walked Cari up to the front door of her house. The sun had set and it was almost 10:25. Meaning their date was over, and they had to say goodnight. Not like they wanted to. They felt like the time had gone by too fast. But at least they would have tomorrow and the rest of the summer to spend together, so it wasn't so bad.

Cari turned to Zexion. "That was a lot of fun", she said. "Thanks for walking me up to the door. Are you sure you don't want to come in?"

"If I do that, I won't want to leave", said Zexion. "And your dad would probably embarrass us."

"I wouldn't doubt it", Cari nodded, laughing. She kissed his still warm cheek. "Dad might be watching. So that's all I can do right now."

Zexion returned the kiss. "Not a problem", he whispered.

Cari felt a shiver run down her spine. She blushed more and hugged him. "Well, I should go in now", she said, letting go. "Dad wouldn't be to happy if I spent the rest of the night outside."

Zexion slipped a small piece of paper into Cari's hand. "Here's my cell phone number", he said. He kissed her cheek again. "Call me." He pulled away and began to leave. "Goodnight, Cari."

"Goodnight", Cari said, watching him leave. She didn't go back inside until after he was completely out of sight. When she finally did, Vexen was waiting for her.

"Did you have fun", he asked.

"Yeah", said Cari. She yawned and stretched. "I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed now. Night."

Vexen didn't say anything, but watched her slip down the hall to her room. What was this uneasy feeling he had? It was as if tonight marked something strangely important. But what? And if it was so important, why was he dreading it so much? A single thought ran through his mind, but he dismissed it quickly enough. That wouldn't happen. The possibilities of it were just far too slim. How would such a thing happen? But then again, he also knew that in this world, one always had to expect the unexpected. There were no laws of physics that said the world was anything close to sane. The basic nature was chaos, even when reasonable.

Cari headed back to her room and closed the door without a thought of what her father might be thinking. Ok, so she wasn't really tired. But she needed Vexen to think she was. That was so she could sneak out and go for another moonlit walk in the forest. Not that it was particularly safe, but she loved it none the less. It was just so cool at night in the summer.

Not wanting to accidently ruin her new clothes, she grabbed some older ones. She picked an old blue t-shirt, and a pair of denim shorts that were ripped at the knees. She quickly changed into the more appropriate outfit for a walk. She quickly slipped on her old pair of sneakers. Grabbing a scrunchy, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep it off her neck for the most part. It was a little windy now, and her long hair would only be flying everywhere.

She opened the window and felt the wind caressing her face. It was such a nice night for a walk. Hopping out the window, she quietly ran towards the forest. Which was, luckily, not far from the house. But she still had to be careful no one caught her. Or else she would be in big trouble and any hopes of another date with Zexion would be gone for a while.

Once she entered the forest, she slowed to a nice slow walk. The forest was nice. Not too crowded where she couldn't move, but not so spacious where someone could spot her easily. She loved coming here to think about her day every now and again. Whether they were good or bad days—it didn't really matter what kind of day it was.

Today had been extraordinarily great. The whether was completely impeccable. And the beach was awesome. She had a lot of fun. Her friends all told her she looked amazing in her new bikini, with Yuki slyly commenting on her being with Zexion. And she, while not appearing to pay any attention until she was told, found that a lot of the boys were looking at her. She simply rolled her eyes and laughed at that.

She spent the entire time with Zexion, and had even managed to tell him she loved him. To say she was nervous was an understatement. She swore her heart stopped several times while they were alone. And her face must have turned a million shades of red darker than should be possible. But she kept telling herself it would be worth it.

And it was. Zexion felt the exact same way. Honestly, it probably should have been obvious from the start. But she was having one of those days where she just didn't notice much. Or at least any signs that should have pointed to the truth.

Once she came to a small clearing, she stopped. Something was wrong—very wrong. Normally, she heard the sounds of the nocturnal animals. But tonight, she heard nothing. Nothing except for the rustling from the breeze. Suffice it to say, it was creepy, and she wanted to turn and go back home. She felt like an idiot for not noticing it earlier. It wasn't as if it was unnoticeable when she entered the forest.

Cari turned around to leave, but froze solid before she could move another inch. Behind her had stood a tall man. Really, a giant in comparison to her. And he had glowing red eyes—something that stated very clearly she should run. Not only were the red eyes unnatural, but she could see a pair of pure white fangs protruding from his mouth. And his presence alone was frightening.

She promptly tried to run away as he lunged at her, feeling her legs unfreeze, but he caught her by the shoulder. He pulled her in closer to him, so that she was just about pressed against him.

"You smell nice", he hissed, knowing he had her trapped.

Cari screeched and tried to free herself. But she couldn't. He was just too strong. He bent his head down by her neck, and licked it. She felt a cold shiver run down her entire body.

"Just one bite, my dear", he whispered. He licked her neck again as she gave another scream.

And then she felt his fangs piercing her skin. It hurt a lot, like she was being stung by a million hornets at once. Maybe worse. She screamed again as she felt him sucking her blood out. Tears began streaming down her face as her blood was being drained. She was being attacked by a vampire.

She didn't know how long it really lasted, but eventually he let go. Her hand quickly moved to cover the wound. She watched in fear as the man just stood there, watching her. His mouth soaked in her blood. She screamed again as her legs gave out and she collapsed on the ground in a small pool of her blood. She just continued to stare at her attacker in fear as she realized she was probably going to die tonight.

To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2-Decisions, Decisions

**Note: Ok, so I'd intended to update this a week after the first chapter, but I got busy. I'm a college student, so it kind of makes sense. I'll try to keep up with the updates, and maybe give a little more frequently than once a week. I'm only able to do that since it's technically been written once before, and I'm just trying to make it better. And as I said before, if you have any questions or want to say something, feel free to do so. I don't bite~ Some of the characters do, but I don't. ^^**

Chapter 2: Decisions, Decisions

Cari clutched her bleeding neck in pain and screamed again. The mysterious vampire disappeared in an instant and left her to bleed out the rest of her life in the forest. Her entire body was in pain, but she crawled over to the nearest tree and propped herself up against it. If nothing else, she could at least try to get into a more comfortable position, pointless as it seemed.

She cried. Even though it hurt even worse, she cried. She was going to die in the forest all alone. She shouldn't have even come out tonight. She should have just gone to sleep like her dad had had thought she was going to do. Not sneaking out for a midnight stroll in the forest. Something she should have known was too dangerous from the start.

Though honestly, she couldn't believe this was happening. She had the perfect day at the beach with Zexion. The love of her life. He had been so nice all day. He'd walked her up to the door of her house and even given her a light kiss on the cheek. And then she made the mistake of coming out for the walk that turned into a disaster.

She wailed out in agony. It wasn't like anyone would hear her, though. But she still screamed. I if she could, she would find some way to keep on living. But that wasn't going to happen. At least, she didn't think it would. Regardless of the encounter with a vampire, she knew that her luck had run out. Though she never really considered herself all that lucky.

She took a ragged breath and closed her eyes and screamed again. As loud as she possibly could. This would probably be her last noise. So she wanted it to be the loudest one ever, regardless of the fact this wish was inexplicable. She tried to keep attention away from herself. But now, she would be more than noticed. She briefly wondered what would happen after she was dead. How would everyone deal with it?

She opened her eyes when she heard the sound of someone walking up to her. As much as it hurt, she looked up and saw a hooded figure above her. She wanted to scream out again. Not in pain this time, but in fear. But there was something that stopped her. Perhaps it was the fact that this person wasn't actively trying to harm her. Yet.

The hooded figure bent down to look at her closer. "Are you hurt", the person asked. By the voice, it must have been a man.

"Wh-what… do you… think", Cari tried to snap at him. But her voice wouldn't cooperate. "I… was just… at-attacked!"

The man reached his hand out to touch her cheek. She flinched at what she thought was going to be pain. But she felt nothing like that. Actually, it felt good. It made her pain begin to dissipate bit by bit.

"I understand", the man said. He sighed. "You're scared. I heard your screams. A vampire attacked you. Am I right?"

Cari found herself nodding. "How… did you know", she asked, her voice finally not quite so raspy.

"I am a vampire", the man said.

Cari began to tremble in fear. She was staring another vampire right in the eyes. "Are you going to kill me and put me out of this misery", she finally asked.

The man remained silent for a moment. "No", he said calmly. "I make it a point not to actually kill humans. I'm here to offer you a choice." Cari gasped. "Do you want to live?"

Cari nodded again. "I… I do", she cried. "I don't want to die yet. I just had the perfect beach date with the boy of my dreams. I don't want to die without seeing him for the rest of my life. I want to be with him as long as I can!"

"I see", the man said. "Would you give up being human to see him again? Would you become a vampire to see that boy?"

Cari drew a deep breath. She was now being given the chance to see Zexion again. But would she give up her humanity for it? Would she become something else to be with him again? Did she even trust this man? There was a strong chance she would become something else entirely—something almost unrecognizable. She wasn't entirely sure she could trust him, especially under these circumstances.

"Yes", she said, deciding. No matter what happened, she wouldn't be the same again. Regardless of whether or not she could really trust him, this was her only chance to see Zexion again. "If it meant I could be with the one I loved, I'll do it. I'll become a vampire."

Cari couldn't tell, but he swore she saw the man smile. "You will make a fine vampire", the man said, removing his hood. She still couldn't see him very well for the darkness. But she could make out that he had blond hair and bright green eyes. He was quite handsome.

Cari gave a small, grateful smile. She was going to live. Even if she did have to become a vampire. It wasn't how she ever expected her life to go, but it was how it would be. It was almost like a twisted fate.

"What do I have to do", she asked. "Just tell me."

"You seem quick to trust", said the man. "Are you sure I won't have you hurt a friend?"

"Well, what choice do I have", she shot back. "And you don't really seem like that kind of man. Besides, either way, I won't be the same. Either I'll be dead, or I'll be a vampire. Just tell me what I need to do."

"There are two steps", said the man. "The first is already complete." He traced Cari's wound, making her flinch. "You've been bitten by a vampire. The next step is to drink a vampire's blood." He paused briefly. "Will you still do it?"

Cari nodded. "Just slit your wrist or something", she said. "I'll drink it." That was all there was to it. She'd made her choice, and now it was time to stick with it.

The man pushed one of his sleeves up, and brought his wrist to his mouth and bit into it. Once he drew blood, he moved his wrist over to Cari's mouth. "Drink", he commanded.

Cari gulped nervously. It was do or die now. And she preferred do. She gently took the man's wrist and closed her eyes as she opened her mouth to cover the holes. And she drank his blood. At first, it was bitter, and she was almost disgusted by it. But as she continued to drink, it began to get sweeter. And she began to crave it.

She could feel her body reacting. Changing. It didn't feel particularly pleasant, but it didn't really hurt either. Like a light tugging or squeezing in a child's hand. And somehow, she knew it wouldn't last much longer. And then the change would be complete.

The man pulled his wrist away, and Cari opened her eyes. They were now red as the blood that covered her lips, instead of the blue they were just moments ago. And she stared at the man with those red eyes. Her stare was as blank as her mind. And then she collapsed into the man's arms.

The man shifted her into a bridal position, and stood up. "Such a brave child", he mused. "Very bold, indeed. She didn't even hesitate much. That boldness will carry her far."

* * *

Vexen sat at the kitchen table staring at his friend, with his arms crossed and his expression set into a scowl. "Would you care to explain why you don't visit for ten, almost eleven, years and then just decide to show up with my daughter in your arms with blood covering her neck and mouth tonight", he asked. This was not what he had wanted. But he really should have known something had to give eventually.

The blond haired man gave a sad smile. "You know how busy I get", he said. "I've been working incredibly hard at the camp lately."

"Then how is it you ended up here", asked Vexen. "Vincent, you should still remember that I don't like it when someone attempts to dodge a question."

"Ah, yes", said Vincent. "You see, I was just in the neighborhood tonight. I had decided to take a nice little stroll in the forest. Not unlike your daughter."

"It is like her to sneak out for a walk at night", Vexen admitted.

"Rebellious, just like Molly", said Vincent.

"Yes", Vexen said, a twinge of pain in his voice. "They are so much alike. Sometimes, it's hard to tell the difference, and I see Molly in her all the time." He sighed. "I believe then, with Cari being reckless like her, she was attacked."

"She was", said Vincent. "Unfortunately, Cari only had one option to live."

"I see", said Vexen. "So you changed her."

"Yes", said Vincent. "I had given her the choice, and she chose to continue being with those she cares for."

* * *

Cari jerked awake on her bed. She was still in her clothes she wore on her walk in the forest, but the blood had been cleaned off her neck and mouth. She sighed in relief. She was back in her room, and she was safe. At least from any more vicious vampires. Her dad must have already found out, because she could hear him talking with the vampire who changed her in the kitchen, and she could pretty much make out what they were saying.

It kind of surprised her how she could hear all the way out into the kitchen so clearly. Then again, she also wasn't surprised. Obviously the myth about heightened senses was true. She could also smell some coffee. It smelled really good.

She smacked her forehead when she realized exactly how much trouble she would be in. Vexen obviously now knew that she had snuck out of the house to take a walk. And she just knew he wasn't happy about it. She'd probably be grounded for the rest of summer break. Grounded for sneaking out past bed time and getting herself turned into a vampire. How would she ever explain that to her friends? Without freaking them out. It was likely, though, that she wouldn't be allowed to explain it.

She stood up and felt a little wobbly. She was also a little light headed. It was probably still from earlier, and she steadied herself with her bedside table. She knew explaining exactly what happened would lead to her being in trouble. But she knew she needed to go out and join them. No matter how awkward it would be. She'd just have to deal with it.

Cari took a deep breath and headed out to the kitchen slowly. Just trying to prolong facing Vexen's unnerving stare. It was one thing to watch him stare at someone else. But it was a completely different story being the one he stared at. And Cari had been that person many times before. And each time was no less awkward than another. Just picturing that stare was bad.

She finally came out into the kitchen, and both sets of eyes were on her. "Um, hi… Dad", she said nervously.

Vexen continued to stare at her. "Cari, sit down", he said. "We need to talk."

Cari did as she was told and sat down in one of the chairs at the table. "Ok", she asked, trying to sink into the chair. "How much trouble am I in this time?"

"This time, it's not a question of how much trouble you're in", said Vexen. "This time, it's a question of how you're feeling. Because you are already in a lot of trouble."

Cari shrank back into her chair a bit. Of course she was in trouble. "I'm ok", she said. "Ok, maybe I feel a little light-headed and my legs are a bit wobbly and my throat's dry as a bone, but I'm fine."

"Then you're fine", said Vincent. "Your legs feeling wobbly is common for someone who has just become a vampire. They'll be fine soon. And you just need blood right now."

Cari looked at her lap. "Does it… Does it have to be human blood", Cari asked.

"No, not necessarily", said Vincent. He gave a sly smile. "Though if you choose human blood, you might want to shy away from your dad's. Heaven only knows everything that must be in his."

Cari tried not to laugh when Vexen's face turned red as a beet. "Vincent", he nearly shrieked.

"Well, if it's in his blood, it would probably be in mine, too", Cari said, finally bursting out laughing, regardless of the seriousness of the situation.

"Don't worry Vexen, I'm only kidding", said Vincent.

Cari looked at Vincent. "So, what would you like me to call you", she asked. After all, the only things she could say wouldn't really work that well and were a little impudent.

"Just call me Vincent", said the responded.

"Thanks", said Cari. She looked back at Vexen. "So…"

"I'm quite upset that you snuck out and nearly got yourself killed", said Vexen.

Cari's face fell a bit in shame. "Sorry", she said.

"But what's done is done", said Vexen. "You will lose your cell phone and computer, though."

"Fair enough", Cari sighed. "How long?"

"For as long as you're at camp this summer", said Vincent.

"Wait, camp", asked Cari. She looked between the two men in confusion. What camp?

"Yes, camp", said Vexen. "You're a vampire now. You need to learn how to control any new abilities you now have."

"Oh", Cari said, a bit of sadness in her voice. That was not she had expected. "I understand." Her frown turned into a fake smile. She didn't want to seem sad about going to camp. It was something she wanted to do anyway. Though, she never expected it to be a vampire camp. The thought slightly scared her. "Sounds like fun. When do I need to be ready?"

"Exactly one week from 7:00 AM", said Vincent. "You are not to leave this house until I come for you. You are allowed to invite one person over only once during this time to say goodbye in person and explain that this camp will help you. However, you are required not to tell anyone the real reason."

"Fine", said Cari. "I take it that I'm only allowed to invite one person over because more would be risky?"

"Yes", said Vincent. "It could jeopardize our existence."

"So, how do I… get blood until you come back", Cari asked. It was probably an obvious question, but she had to make sure.

Vincent smiled lightly and looked at Vexen. He rested a hand on his shoulder. "I believe your dad will be willing to donate", he said.

Cari could feel her mouth start to water and she blushed. While she needed blood, biting her own dad would be embarrassing.

Vexen looked fully at Vincent, and then at Cari. His face paled and he looked back at Vincent. "Wait, you can't be serious", he exclaimed. "Don't you usually take a new vampire out to hunt?!"

"In the event that the parents or immediate family doesn't know, or they live alone, yes", said Vincent. "However, in this case, I think you would be the best choice."

Vexen looked back at Cari. His expression was almost pleading. Cari blushed more and glanced away. "Um… I don't know", she said. "Maybe… Maybe not the first time. I mean, it would be awkward…"

"Then we'll hunt", said Vincent. "Human or animal, which would you like?"

Cari's eyes widened. Just what did she get herself into this time? "I-I guess… human blood tastes better", she asked.

Vincent nodded. "Yes, it generally does", he said. "You also don't have to drink it as much. I suppose you could say it's healthier."

Cari thought for a second. "Hmm… human, I suppose then", she said nervously. This was going to be interesting.

"Wonderful", Vincent said, standing up. He extended his hand to Cari and she took it, standing up as well. He looked at Vexen and nodded. "Then we'll take our leave for a bit."

Cari moved closer to Vincent. She nodded nervously to Vexen, and within minutes, they were in a tree just outside the town square. So vampires were also super fast? Maybe there were going to me more positives, after all. If she could become more athletic, maybe she could avoid a weight problem altogether.

"Now what", she asked, looking at Vincent.

Vincent continued to look at the people still out. "We find someone", he said. He pointed at a tall boy with porcupine-like red hair. "What about him?"

Cari looked at the boy. "Axel", she gasped. She'd recognize that hair anywhere. She pursed her lips tightly. He did look delicious now, and was making her drool, but he was her friend. She frowned. But why was he out at this ungodly hour of the night in the first place? Like her, he should have known that it could be dangerous at night. "Hmm…"

* * *

Axel smiled as he threw away the stick from his sea-salt ice cream. He turned his head when he heard rustling in the trees. And not being one to leave something unchecked, he went to see what it was.

To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3-Preparations For Camp

**Note: Third chapter out a little later than expected, but here it is. I'd like to post this weekly, since it's actually faster to work on it this time. But until I get caught up, hopefully back on a Saturday schedule. Also, I'm thinking of writing some omake chapters throughout the rewrite of the story. These will probably be posted after the actual chapter of the story. These aren't likely to be quite as long as the regular chapters, though.**

**As always, if you have any questions or want to say something, please feel free to let me know. Happy reading!**

Chapter 3: Preparations For Camp

Cari gasped as she saw Axel coming towards them. He didn't know it, but he was walking right into danger. And she wanted nothing more than to tell him to go away. This wasn't good for him. Or likely more precisely, it wasn't good for her conscience. Regardless of Vincent being there, Axel would end up in a situation vaguely reminiscent of her own. It was one thing if it was someone she didn't know. But Axel was one of her closest friends.

"It looks like our prey has just come to us", said Vincent.

"Don't refer to him that way", Cari hissed without thinking. "He's my friend!"

"Tonight, he's your prey", Vincent said, not once looking away from Axel. He knew with Cari, he would have to be stern. And he wouldn't let her take so much of his blood that it endangered his life.

Once Axel was several feet into the forest, Cari knew there was nothing more she could do to argue for someone else. She quickly snuck behind him to begin what she had inevitably come to do. So the very second Axel stopped, and before he could do anything, her hand had covered his mouth. He tried to turn his head, but she was now able to keep him from doing so.

Cari felt guilty for it, but she quickly pulled him where he wouldn't be seen at all. She had no trouble pulling him, even with his struggling to escape. It amazed her how much strength she now had—if she could pull him along without much trouble, what else could she do? However, she couldn't let her mind dwell on that. She had something she needed to do now. She couldn't afford to spend too much time here.

Axel fought as she continued to pull him. He attempted to pull her hand away from his mouth, but he still had trouble. After a few minutes of struggling, Cari loosened her grip on his mouth a bit, and he was finally able to move it.

"Don't you dare say a word", Cari growled, about an octave lower than her voice actually was. "I don't want to have to hit you."

"Who-", Axel started, stopped as she jerked him to where he was sitting on his legs.

"I'm sorry", said Cari. "Please, just relax. And it probably won't hurt as much."

Axel turned to see only the top and back of her head now on his back. "Cari", he asked, awestruck at what was happening. "What are you doing?!"

Cari wanted to cry. She could feel the tears forming. She didn't want to do what she was about to, but her throat was burning. She needed some of his blood. She probably should have just gone with an animal. But now she was too far gone with Axel here.

"Please," Cari pleaded, "forgive me for this. I'll find a way to make it up to you. I promise."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and turned his head back around and upwards slightly. She got up to where she stood mostly on her knees, and bent her head forward and licked his neck. She could swear he was about to say something, but he didn't. After having sucked on it a little, she sunk the fangs that had just grown out into his neck. Just as he was about to scream in pain, she covered his mouth again.

The scent of Axel's blood sent Cari into a buzz and her eyes turned red. It smelled so good. She quickly began to gulp down the blood she'd drawn. It tasted so good to her. So sweet and divine. She loved it. She wanted more. But within a few minutes, she stopped so as not to accidentally hurt him even worse. She'd never forgive herself if she did something to him that ended with another bad scenario. As it was, Vincent was there and watching her. She had to do this right.

She removed her mouth from his neck. Resting her head on Axel's back again, she began to cry. She moved her hand from his mouth and placed it over the wound she'd just made. She had to try to stop the bleeding at least a little.

Axel was still conscious, but very light-headed. He could feel her head on his back again. It hadn't taken him two seconds after she bit him for him to realize she was a vampire now. If she hadn't always been one. He wanted to say something. But he couldn't ask her why she did that. He could tell she was crying.

"I'm sorry", Cari muttered. "Please… don't hate me."

"I don't", Axel finally said, after a short pause to get his thoughts in order. "You're a good person. I'm sure you have your reasons."

Cari gasped and looked up at the back of his head. How did he forgive her so easily? When she couldn't even forgive herself. She looked back down. "Don't tell", she said. "It just happened earlier. Don't tell anyone I'm a vampire now. It… I chose to keep living. I-"

"I won't", Axel said calmly, interrupting what he knew was going to be one of her long-winded speeches that involved the choices she made. "I promise."

Within seconds, Vincent was at Cari's side. "He can't be allowed to remember", he said. "I thought I made that clear."

Cari and Axel both looked up at Vincent. Cari glanced down and then back up at Vincent. What had she been thinking? Of course he'd been clear on the situation. At least, clear enough that she could figure out the rest. Still… She felt like she could still trust Axel now as she always had.

"I-"

"If you let people find out, it will cause problems eventually", said Vincent.

"It's fine", Axel said to Cari.

Cari didn't pay him any attention. "He won't cause any problems", she said, anger beginning to rise in her voice.

Right now, it didn't matter that Vincent had obvious seniority over her. It didn't matter that he was likely to be much stronger than her. Her dad was only good for talking to so much. If her mom was still there, she wouldn't have argued over this. She would have probably been the perfect person to talk to. But the simple fact was that it wasn't the case now.

Vincent shook his head, half in aggravation—she would likely be the cause of many headaches to come—and half in trying to gain control of his own mind again. Obviously, she was going to be exceptionally powerful. Perhaps he would later speak with Vexen about this incident. As to why, he had a few guesses. But those theories were pointless at the moment.

It really wasn't the flitting—that was easy to get the hang of. Cari was exuding more power than he'd originally thought. It almost rolled off of her—shame that vampires could only tap into so much of it most often than not. If she could utilize all of it, with extensive training, she could probably do the magic society a lot of good.

"Do you really want to endanger him more than he already is", asked Vincent. If she was going to have him know, then she was going to have to realize the consequences.

Cari recoiled some. She really hadn't thought of that and was being selfish. After all, it probably would be better for Axel if she didn't have him know just to be put in more danger—just so she could have someone else to talk to. She decided to look to Axel, who seemed to be trying to keep up, to see what he wanted. If all else failed, he could at least help her make up her own mind.

Axel caught her looking at him and looked between the two vampires. "You want someone to talk to about this, don't you", he asked.

Cari nodded carefully. "But… Vincent has a point", she admitted. "I mean, I guess he does. I need to talk with someone, but… I'd rather not endanger them because of it."

Axel thought about it and looked at Vincent finally. He was dizzy, however he still needed to get all this over with. Something had to be figured out. "I know from experience that if she doesn't have a friend to talk to, whatever's bothering her will just keep bothering her."

Cari slouched down on her bed and whined loudly. Today, or rather yesterday now, had gone from fun all the way to crap. Not only had she almost gotten herself killed and turned into a vampire, she bit one of her friends, and best friend's boyfriend. At least Axel hadn't caused too much trouble for her. That was one of the few good things that happened last night.

After a small discussion—that ended in revealing a now dry and fully healed wound—They had all agreed that maybe having Axel forget was the best thing to do. At least, it would be that way for now. However, Vincent had agreed to allow Cari someone she could talk to about the problems she might face as a vampire. It would be the one person she invited over. Hopefully, though, nothing went wrong with that plan of action.

She looked over at the handbook for CampVampire that sat on her dresser. Vincent had left that with her to read. It had all the rules in it that she needed to know. That she needed to memorize for a good camper's experience. She hadn't started reading it, though.

She hadn't even figured out who she was going to talk to face to face before she left yet. She had several friends she could choose from, not to mention Zexion. But she didn't want to risk any of them freaking out at the information she would give them. Strangely enough, vampires being real had never really come up between any of them. Therefore, no one could guarantee everything would go smoothly, regardless of how open they were.

She lay down and took her glasses off and set them on the bedside table. At least she knew one thing now. Becoming a vampire didn't fix her eyesight any. She still couldn't see worth crap without her glasses. It would have been awesome if it had, though.

Eventually, after her thoughts stopped racing through her mind, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

When Cari eventually woke up, the sun was shining in her room through the window. It was awfully bright, and it gave her a small headache. But it didn't burn her, so that was a good thing.

She got up and stretched. She was still very tired, but she grabbed her glasses and put them on. When she looked at her alarm clock, she almost did a back flip. It was after 11:30 already. She'd slept for almost ten hours.

She trudged over to the window and was about to close the curtains so she could get dressed, but she got a surprise instead. Her best friend, Yuki, who now had a bad case of sunburn, was standing right outside knocking on the window. Cari glared through the window. Which in turn made Yuki roll her eyes. Cari opened the window. Yuki was about to hop in, but Cari stopped her.

"Yuki, I just got up", Cari groaned. "Could you please not come in?"

Yuki gasped theatrically. "You won't let your own best friend into your room", she asked. "Come on, please."

"I said I just got up", said Cari.

Yuki grinned mischievously. "How late did you stay up with Zexy", she asked. "Don't tell me you two…"

Cari sighed. "Would you mind keeping your perverted questions to yourself", she asked.

"Oh, that reminds me", said Yuki. "When I saw Axy this morning, he looked kind of pale."

"And", Cari asked. She knew exactly what happened, and she was less than pleased with Yuki bringing it up. As it was, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to bring what happened up with her.

"I was wondering if you knew anything about it", said Yuki.

"Why would I know anything", Cari asked, trying her best not to outright lie. "Now let me close the window and curtains so I can get dressed."

Yuki grabbed the curtains. She grinned and closed them herself and held them where they were. "Now you can get dressed", she said. "And I've still got stuff to say."

"Fine", Cari sighed. She went over to her closet and picked out a nice green summer dress. "So what else did you want to say?"

"Well, did you hear about last night", asked Yuki.

"Yuki, I told you, I just woke up", said Cari. "How would I have heard about anything last night?" She grabbed some clean underwear and a bra and began getting dressed.

"Oh yeah", said Yuki. "There was an attack in the forest last night."

Cari frowned. She knew exactly what was coming. And exactly how to deal with it. "Oh, really", she said with a fake interest. "What did you hear about it?"

"No one knows anything else yet, so I didn't hear much", said Yuki. "Someone reported hearing a girl screaming her lungs out in there. And when the police got in there, all that was found was a puddle of dry blood."

"I see", said Cari. It wasn't hard playing along with Yuki. It was actually normal. "That's rough. Do you think the girl was murdered and her body was already disposed of?"

"That's the only thing I can think of", said Yuki. "Unless she's been kidnapped. They're going to be doing a full out investigation."

Cari sighed inwardly. That was one mystery that would never be solved. "Well, maybe they'll figure out what happened soon", she said. She walked back over to the window and Yuki pulled the curtains back open. "Because I imagine it would drive them nuts."

Yuki stared at Cari. And then she put her hand up against her forehead. "Are you ok", she asked. "You feel fine, but you look a little pale, too."

"Lack of sleep", Cari laughed nervously. "I got caught sneaking out last night." She had to be careful how she worded this. "Dad gave me the riot act for it which lasted quite a while."

"Ah, ok", said Yuki. "So what is it? Are you grounded?"

"Eh, kind of", said Cari. "I'm going to a camp this summer. It's kind of strict, so I won't have much of any technology with me. At most, I'll have my mp3 player."

"That sucks", said Yuki. "How are we going to talk?"

"Easy", Cari said impatiently. "You get a piece of paper, a pen or pencil, an envelope, and a few stamps and write a letter."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Smart aleck."

Cari grinned only briefly. "Yup", she said. "And you really can't come in." Yuki was about to ask why, but she stopped her. "Because I'm grounded and am only allowed to officially see one person until I go to camp."

"Oh, fair enough, I guess", Yuki grumbled. "So what kind of camp is it?"

"Well, it's an interesting one, for sure", said Cari. "I mean, it's kind of like a boarding school. Even though I'll only be there over the summer, it goes all year. It's got pretty high standards, so your average Joe can't get in."

Yuki's eyes began to sparkle. "Ooh, that sounds great", she said. "Do you think I could get in?"

"No", said Cari. "Now I'm sorry, but you have to leave. I'll call you later and tell you more then. Tell the others they can't come and that I'll call them after tomorrow." She closed the window, making Yuki jump back and scowl. She watched her friend run off and sighed.

Cari sat at the kitchen table with the handbook for the camp and just stared at it. She had read through the entire thing already. It was quite detailed. It covered just about everything you could think of on rules and the code of conduct. It even covered the schedule and the different classes. Not to mention, there was a map that showed the entire layout of the camp.

Apparently, she was going to be rooming with another camper while there. Not like she had a problem with it. It was just something she hadn't thought about. She honestly hoped she and her roommate would get along pretty well. Or at least that she'd leave her alone. She didn't want to end up arguing a lot. Or fighting on camp grounds.

Fighting on camp grounds was highly prohibited outside of class. Oh, you could fight, but you had to formally challenge a person first. Outside of the training class, you could only fight in the arena. It was sort of like one of those things from back in Roman times. And you were encouraged to fight fairly if at all possible.

She grabbed the house phone and dialed the number Zexion gave her. She would have used her cell phone, but Vexen had already confiscated it. She looked at her watch. It was about 7:30. Enough time had passed for him to be done with his dinner.

A split second before she pressed call, she heard someone knocking on the door. She frowned. No one had been invited for this evening. She never decided who to tell her secret to. She wondered who it was. She got up and went over to it. She could hear the person whispering to themselves. It was Zexion.

Cari quickly opened the door and blushed. Which was now pretty obvious with her slightly paler skin. "Zexion, hi", she said happily. "I was just about to call you." She let him in.

"Evening to you too", Zexion said, hugging Cari.

Cari hugged him back, being careful not to hurt him with her new strength. They let go of each other and Cari led him into the living room, sitting down on the couch. "So… What's up", she asked. She inwardly growled at her self. Even with being a vampire now, she felt like a nervous wreck.

"I wanted to see if you were ok", said Zexion. "There's an investigation going on in the forest right now. And I was afraid you were hurt."

Cari blushed even more. "Actually, I didn't even make it out of the house to go on that walk", she said. True, she was blatantly lying, but didn't honestly have any clue how Zexion would react. This would definitely prove problematic later on. "Dad caught me and confiscated my cell phone."

Zexion sighed in relief. "Well, that's good I suppose", he said. "So I take it you're grounded?"

"Kind of", said Cari. "Dad's making me go to this camp for the summer."

"That doesn't sound too bad", said Zexion.

Cari gave a sad smile. "No technology", she said. "And I can't see you. I'm lucky he let me invite someone over before I left. That's what I was going to call you for."

"Where is your dad anyway", asked Zexion.

"Downstairs in his lab doing an experiment", said Cari. "Which I'm really happy about. Because now I can do this."

Cari grinned and kissed Zexion. He blushed and kissed back. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. The kiss was sweet, but full of passion. She let herself be pushed down so she was lying on the couch with him on top of her. She really couldn't control herself right now, and must have done something between them to make such actions happen so soon. Perhaps it was her own desires, but she didn't know. She'd have to look into that at a later time.

However, something else felt very wrong, and she knew it. The kiss continued, but Cari didn't feel right. She wanted him, which was usually a very normal thought when she thought about him. But this time, it was a lot different from when she was human. She wanted him, but she also really wanted his blood. She couldn't have that—not now, at any rate.

She reluctantly pulled away and blushed.

"Is something wrong", Zexion asked, sitting up and giving Cari a hand.

Cari sat up too. "Dad could come up any minute", she said. ''And I'd rather him not see us kissing." Well, on top of beginning to want his blood. She had to be careful around him.

Zexion gave a sad smile. "That's true", he said. "But it's not like it would have mattered."

Cari laughed. "No, not really", she said. "And it would be funny to see his face."

"So what will you be doing at camp", asked Zexion, changing the subject. For some reason, Cari seemed uncomfortable with it.

Cari stopped laughing. She was kind of hoping he wouldn't have asked that. "I'm not really sure, but there's a lot", she said. She had to be careful what she said. No matter how much she wanted to tell him the truth, she couldn't yet be sure how he'd handle it. "It's a pretty interesting camp. It's actually kind of like school almost. I mean, you have classes like school. You get homework, and you take tests. It actually goes for the entire year, but most just go through the summer program."

"That sounds interesting", said Zexion. "Is there any possibility of me coming too?"

Cari bit her lip nervously. "Actually, Dad got me in last minute", she said. "So I'm afraid not." And it wasn't for humans. She hated lying to those she cared about. Even when it was for their own good.

"Oh", Zexion said, a little disappointed. "Do they allow visitors?"

"No, no visitors, I'm afraid", Cari said sadly. It wouldn't be safe. "But we can write to each other."

Zexion smiled. "That's good", he said. "Is there a piece of paper and pen I could use for a minute? I'd like to give you my mailing address."

"Oh, yeah", said Cari. "It's in the kitchen."

Zexion got up. "Thanks", he said.

Cari mentally smacked herself. The handbook was still on the table. She quickly stood up and grabbed his wrist. "I'll get it. You just sit back down."

Zexion looked at Cari. "Thanks, but I'm pretty sure I can find it", he said. He started to head into the kitchen, but she didn't let him. He stopped and turned around to face her. Her expression was pleading. "Is something wrong?"

"Let me get it", said Cari. "Just sit back down and let me get it. You're a guest here."

"Is there something you don't want me to know", Zexion asked, now very concerned. Cari blinked and stared at him. "It just seems like you're trying to hide something."

Cari glanced away. Either she was being a crappy liar right now, or Zexion could see right through her.

"You don't need to hide anything from me", said Zexion. "I love you. It doesn't matter if you were to change somehow. That's what people do over time."

Cari glanced back at him. She let go of his wrist. "It's… better you not know right now", she said. She gave him a sweet smile. "Don't worry about it. One day, I'll tell you. I promise. But for now, just let me keep it to myself. Don't let it worry you. Like you said, I'll always be me. Right?"

Zexion stared into her eyes. He needed to listen to her. She was right. "Right", he said. "I shouldn't let it bother me."

Cari almost cried from happiness. "Thanks", she said. "Now you just sit down and let me get the paper and pen."

About a dozen or so phone calls and six days later, it was Saturday again. Cari had everything she needed for camp ready, and she was now just waiting for Vincent to show up again. She and Vexen sat at the kitchen table just staring at each other.

Of course, in the end, she really told no one about her being a vampire. It didn't really feel right, so she just let it be. She hadn't even told Yuki in the end, regardless of being best friends. Granted, eventually she might end up finding out anyway. But she wanted it to be a time when she was fully in control of herself so that she wouldn't make some kind of mistake. She also wanted to wait until after she had learned about the new world she just got herself into.

"Dad, are you sure you'll be fine by yourself", asked Cari. "You and I both know if no one's here to remind you, you'll forget to eat."

"I'll be fine", said Vexen. "Now, do you have everything you need?"

Cari rolled her eyes. "Yes Dad, I do", she said. "I'm going away for the entire summer. I don't think I'd forget anything. I've even got every single drawing I've done of Zexy. I've got my camera. And my music. Half of all my clothes, and everything else I need."

"I'm just making sure", said Vexen. "Because I know how forgetful you can be."

Cari was about to answer him with a retort when Vincent appeared in the doorway. "Good morning", he said. "I see you're all set." He motioned to Cari's bags.

"Really, Vincent", Vexen shrieked. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!"

"Sorry, I forgot", said Vincent.

Cari laughed. "Don't worry about it", she said. "I do that all the time in his lab because he usually doesn't hear me." She sighed. "Yeah, I'm all set."

"Good", said Vincent. He looked at Vexen and nodded.

Vexen's eyes widened a bit. Then he looked at Cari and relaxed, smiling. She was going to be in for quite the surprise. "You be on your best behavior, now", he said. "I don't want to hear that you've been getting in trouble."

Cari stood up. "Yes, Dad", she said, yawning for effect. "I know. No fighting or creating too much mischief."

Vexen sighed. "No mischief", he said.

Cari smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok", she said. She went over and grabbed her bags. She looked at Vincent. "Should we be going now?"

"Yes", said Vincent.

Cari looked back at Vexen. "Bye Dad", she said. She turned and Vincent led her outside to a beat up car. She rolled her eyes. This was going to be an interesting summer break.

To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4-Welcome To Camp

**Note: Ok, finally, the next chapter up on schedule. Please note-I love Larxene. She's a royal pain in the butt, but she's one of my favorite characters. I'll get into why she's a royal pain, but that comes much, much later in the story. Final Fantasy characters still don't show up for several more chapters, so just be patient. Also, working on the first omake. I think they'll be shorter than regular chapters.**

Chapter 4: Welcome To Camp

Cari and Vincent stood outside one of the many cabins in the campgrounds. This was where Cari would be staying for the summer. She was kind of nervous about this. But she didn't want to say anything. She just hoped she could get along with her roommate. Or at least be able to ignore each other if need be.

"Alright, before we go in, I just want to tell you about your roommate", said Vincent. Cari looked up at him, her face more or less blank. "She's had a history of kicking her roommates out. And most of them end up in the infirmary before getting moved to another cabin. She doesn't get along with most people, as most are the victims of her… ill-humored jokes."

"And I'll be rooming with her why, then", Cari asked, a slight venomous tone to her voice. She didn't exactly want to end up in the infirmary.

"It's the only place we have left right now", said Vincent. That, and he was certain that with her potential and abilities already shown, she would be perfectly able to handle any situations that arose.

"Should I start writing my will now", Cari asked flatly. She didn't like hearing that there was no other bed available. If she was lucky, she'd keep from getting pummeled into the ground—figuratively or literally speaking. Possibly even both.

Vincent laughed. "You'll be fine", he said.

He knocked on the door. Within seconds, it was opened by a girl with slicked back blond hair, with two strands making her look almost like a bug. She looked at Vincent and then glared at Cari.

Cari crossed her arms and frowned. More, anyway. "What's your problem", she asked bluntly. Well, there went any chances of trying to be friends for a while.

"Another kid", the girl sneered.

"I'm sixteen", Cari said pointedly.

Vincent sighed and rubbed the back of his head a bit. Obviously, they wouldn't be friends any time soon as he had hoped. Then again, there was always time to wait and see. He looked at Cari. "Cari, this is your roommate, Larxene", he said. He looked back at Larxene. "Larxene-" He didn't get very far.

Cari and Larxene just glared at each other. Oh, yes, this was definitely going to be interesting. Cari knew Larxene was going to drive her completely insane. If she wasn't already.

Vincent sighed again. "Try and get along now", he said, making them go inside. He knew one of them would end up getting hurt, in one way or another, but it was the only place available.

Larxene closed the door and turned to Cari. "Ok, brat," she said, "just put your stuff in the dressers on your side of the room." She pointed to the almost empty side of the room.

Cari walked over and put her stuff down. "Don't call me brat", she said, sitting down on the neatly made bed. She kicked her sneakers off and turned herself long ways on it and lay down. She closed her eyes. "Look, I won't bother you if you don't bother me."

"Until proven otherwise, you're a brat", said Larxene. "Still, good policy. When did you come up with that one?"

"I always had that set in mind", said Cari. "I just don't like getting into an unneeded fight or argument."

Larxene went over and sat down on her bed. "You're not the loud, obnoxious type, are you", she asked.

"I try not to be", said Cari. "I'm normally pretty quiet and like it that way. But if something is funny, I'll be inclined to laugh. No, I will laugh."

"And you're not a stiff either, right", asked Larxene.

"My best friends are pranksters", said Cari. "Of course I'm not a stiff. They're boring."

"Do you like pranks", asked Larxene.

"What is this, twenty questions", asked Cari. "Yes, I like pranks. And jokes. They're funny." She sighed. "Do you think it would be a good idea to go ahead and write my will now?"

Larxene laughed slightly. "I think it might be manageable in here", she said. "Just don't piss me off."

"So I can't say anything about your choice of hair style", asked Cari.

"Depends", said Larxene. "What were you going to say?"

Cari smirked. "I was going to ask if you could get good radio on those antennae-like strands of your hair", she said. She tried not to laugh, but her efforts were useless.

Larxene frowned. "Funny", she said flatly.

Cari stopped laughing after a few minutes. "Ah, sorry. I just couldn't resist", she said.

* * *

Cari lay on her bed listening to her music with her sketchbook and pencils. It was evening already, and she'd just finished making everything just right on her side of the cabin. Now she just wanted to relax before dinner. And what better way to do that than with music and some art.

Right now, she was working on a particularly important drawing. Or at least important to her. It was another drawing of Zexion, who was finally her boyfriend. Sure she already had a bunch, but she just never got tired of drawing him. He was so hot, and she couldn't stop thinking about him.

While Cari was drawing, Larxene came up to her to tell her to get ready for dinner. But Cari didn't seem to hear her over her music. Then again, it wasn't too surprising, it happened to be particularly loud. Larxene noticed she was drawing and grabbed the sketchbook before Cari's pencil touched it again.

"Ooh, what's this", she asked, looking at the picture.

Cari blushed and looked up at Larxene angrily. "Give that back", she growled, getting up and making several grabs at her sketchbook.

Larxene just dodged her each time as she flipped through the pages. "You keep drawing this one boy every other page", she said. "Who is he?"

"None of your business", Cari growled, pushing Larxene to the floor and finally getting her sketchbook back. "Word to the wise, Larxene. Never take my sketchbook, or anything that belongs to me, without my permission."

Larxene got up and crossed her arms. "It's almost time for dinner", she said. "And is that boy your boyfriend?"

Cari turned her music off and put her sneakers on. "I told you already", she said. "It's none of your business."

"Whatever", said Larxene. "I'll find out soon enough. Now let's go."

Cari put her sketchbook and music away, and followed Larxene to the dining hall. Which just so happened to be right by the cabins. So it didn't take long to get there, and Cari didn't get a very good look around.

They entered the dining hall, and Larxene left Cari alone. She sighed. She would get used to this very easily. She always preferred being by herself in a new place. Eventually, she found her way to the buffet, and got some food. A juicy looking steak, some broccoli, some rice, and a glass of water.

She looked around for an empty table. It took a little bit, but she finally found one in one of the corners of the hall. She made her way over to it and sat down. A few minutes later, she noticed someone standing right behind her.

Cari turned around and saw a girl wearing a Nightmare Before Christmas hoodie, a pair of skinny jeans, and a pair of platform boots. Her hair was red, obviously dyed, and cut short.

"I'm sorry, do you sit here", Cari asked. "I could move if you want."

The girl just smiled. "No, I just noticed you looked kind of lonely all by yourself", she said. "Would you mind if I sat with you?"

Cari smiled and moved over a bit. "Go right ahead", she said. The girl sat down beside her. "I just sat here because it was the only empty table. I didn't want to bother anyone."

"Thanks", the girl said. "I've never seen you around before. Are you new?"

"Uh, yeah", said Cari. "I just got here today. I'm Cari Neil."

"I'm Sarah Marks", said the girl. "Welcome to CampVampire."

"Thanks", said Cari. "That's the first time I've heard that today from one of the other campers. My roommate is kind of rude."

"Who's your roommate", asked Sarah.

"Larxene", said Cari. "She called me a brat. And a kid."

"Oh", said Sarah. "I was her roommate when I first got here. She kicked me out and I was in the infirmary for a week. So, I guess you don't like being called a kid?"

"I'm sixteen", said Cari. "Of course not. The problem I have is that I look like I'm twelve."

"That sucks", said Sarah. "Do you think you'll be ok with her?"

"I told her that I won't bother her if she doesn't bother me", said Cari. "I don't know if I'll be ok. But I've got half a mind to start writing my will in case something happens."

Sarah chuckled. "So how'd you end up here", she asked.

Cari frowned. "Long story", she said. Sarah stared at her. "Ok, not really, but I'd just rather not talk about it."

"Ok, I get it", said Sarah. "I was just wondering. So, do you usually sit alone?"

"Only if I don't know anyone", said Cari. "And right now, all the friends I have are back in TwilightTown or in RadiantGardens." She smiled. "So I'm kind of on my own right now. Until I make some more friends, anyway."

"You sound like you kind of just go with the flow", said Sarah.

"Hmm, I guess a bit", said Cari. She grinned. "But if you actually met my friends, you'd realize that we're all kind of insane. Because we always have a lot of fun and love pranks and jokes. Some of us more than others, though. My best friend is one of the craziest in the group."

Sarah laughed a bit. "Sounds like you've got interesting friends", she said.

"Because I like interesting people", said Cari. "The ones you can't always put in a certain group. I like to think of myself like that. And I like those who are nice to others."

"So you don't judge people on appearances", asked Sarah.

"All I do is note what style they seem to like", said Cari. "Because I like pretty much anything as long as it's not in bad taste. Or doesn't look good on me."

"What do I look like", asked Sarah.

"Like someone who likes platform boots, dark and vibrant colors, and whatever else might go with it", said Cari. "Someone who likes to stand out. Not blend into the crowd. And maybe someone who likes loud music. Like rock or metal."

"Not emo", asked Sarah.

Cari frowned. "Maybe a bit", she admitted. "But that's not something that would bother me. I mean, if you are, you've got a reason. If you're not, then it just means you like that style of clothes." She shrugged. "But like I said, it doesn't bother me any."

"Larxene called me emo when she saw me", said Sarah. "But I'm not. I told her I wasn't, but she wouldn't listen. I don't like people calling me emo."

Cari frowned. "And did you do anything else", she asked.

Sarah blinked. "Not really", she said. "I usually just let things go."

"Hmm, I probably wouldn't have let it go too easily", said Cari. "After a while, yeah. But right after, no. And I can't stand it when someone hurts someone I like. Even if I just met the person. I'll pay whoever hurt them back."

Sarah raised her eyebrow. "Revenge", she asked.

"I prefer to think of it more as returning the favor", Cari said, smirking a bit. "See, I get protective over who I like. And if I decide I like someone, I want to make sure they're ok. And I still need to pay her back for calling me brat and kid. Not to mention taking my sketchbook while I was drawing."

"What do you have in mind", asked Sarah.

Cari smiled innocently. "Oh, just a harmless prank", she said.

* * *

Sighing, Cari stood outside one of the many buildings. Today, she was going to her first camp class. She was kind of nervous, but her new friend, Sarah, said she'd be in most of the same classes. And she said she'd be fine. But Cari really wasn't sure. Being a new kid was very nerve-wracking. And she wasn't sure how different it would be from the fifth grade.

She took a deep breath, and opened the door. As she walked into the room, all eyes fell on her. She blushed nervously. She didn't like people staring at her. All that attention was helping nothing. She glanced around and saw Sarah, whose smile helped to reassure her.

Cari looked up at the black haired man who was obviously the teacher. "Um, hi", she said.

"Ah, you must be the new camper", the man said.

"Yes, I am", said Cari. Yes, she was officially the new kid.

"I'm Jeff, it's a pleasure to meet you", the man said. He turned to the rest of the class and pulled Cari over by him. "Everyone, this is our new friend, Carolyn Neil." He looked at Cari. "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Cari blushed. "Uh, yeah", she said nervously. "Just call me Cari. It's shorter, and everyone calls me that." She went to sit down at the desk by Sarah. "Ugh, just like elementary school."

Sarah laughed. "Don't worry about it", she said. "You're one of us. Don't be so nervous."

Cari rolled her eyes. "Yeah", she said.

To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5-Challenges

**Note: Alright, so here's the next chapter. I'm still trying to work on the first omake, and that will be posted directly after the next chapter-provided it's done by then. But don't worry, I'll be working hard on it. And I'd like some feedback on this, too. Never seem to have much luck with that.**

**Anyway, happy reading!**

Chapter 5: Challenges

Cari sat in the stuffy room. She was half asleep because of the heat, but she did her best to pay attention. The lecture was fascinating, really. But she hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the past night. Larxene kept that from happening. She was constantly doing something—though what for, she didn't really know. It was probably an attempt to irritate her and goad her into doing something that was, one, irrational, and two, reckless. If that continued, she was certain to snap at some point.

After a few more minutes, a girl in glasses with curly black hair stepped into the room. Jeff looked over at her and asked what she needed. She said that he was needed to discuss something urgent. He quickly put the book he had been holding down, and followed her, telling everyone to behave while he was gone. Something must have happened, because she got the feeling the classes at this camp were rarely ever interrupted. Though hopefully, whatever it was wasn't too problematic.

Within the next few minutes, the class was nearly chaos. Or at least a few of the kids in here were making it chaos. And this made Cari wake up completely. Though, she wasn't happy about the method. It was far too noisy for her. She couldn't even hear herself thinking. She looked at Sarah. She was sitting there doing nothing. Was she used to such things?

"Sarah", said Cari.

Sarah looked up at Cari. "What is it", she asked.

"Is it always like this when the teacher leaves", asked Cari.

Sarah gave a sad smile. "Yeah", she said. "And it doesn't help that Jeff is a bit too docile to begin with. Even if there's a fight, he doesn't do anything. Some of the other campers intimidate him."

Cari frowned. "Then how does he get the class to behave when he's teaching", she asked.

"You might not guess it," said Sarah, "but everyone here actually wants to learn. So they pay attention. More or less."

Cari sighed. "Well this is getting on my nerves real fast", she said. She thought for a moment about something her dad always did when she misbehaved. "How many books are there in the room?"

Sarah blinked. "A lot", she said. "At least when no one's using them. Right now, they're mostly on the shelves."

Cari looked at the shelves and smirked. "Thanks", she said. She counted how many of the students were misbehaving. There were eight total.

"What are you doing", asked Sarah.

"Just watch", Cari said, getting up.

She headed over to the shelves and got eight of the books. And not the small ones, either. They really looked more like textbooks from school. But somehow, she wasn't surprised. There was a lot in the magic society's history. After counting out enough books, she then walked around and place one on each person's head of those causing a ruckus.

"What the hell", one of them, a boy with red hair, almost screamed, causing the book to fall.

Cari picked the book up and placed it back on his head. "Shut up and focus on balancing the book", she said. "Doing that should keep you from screwing around. You'll find this task is harder than it actually looks."

The boy glared at her and took the book off his head, the others following suit. He must have been their 'leader'. "Why should we", he snapped. "Why should we listen to you, new girl?!"

"I said focus on balancing the book", Cari sighed. "Or would you like me to tell Jeff you've been misbehaving?"

The troublemakers all laughed. "It's not like he'd do anything", the boy said.

"Fine, then I'll tell another teacher", said Cari. "One who will punish you."

"Yeah, right", the boy said.

Cari smirked. "I'm not scared of snitching, you know", she said. "So if you don't want me to, I suggest you do as I say." All the troublemaker's, except the red haired boy, faces turned white as snow and they put the books back on their heads.

"Wipe that smug smirk of your face, new girl", he said, scowling. "I'm not scared of you. And I'm not scared of any of the teachers."

Cari scowled at the boy. "Oh, really", she said. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind seeing my smug smirk as I watch you get punished." Her scowl turned into a full on glare. "Now put the book on your head and focus on balancing it instead of causing trouble." The boy's face paled too, finally, and put the book on his head. She gave a sweet smile. "Good."

Once she got back to her seat, Sarah stared at her in awe. "How did you do that", she asked.

Cari looked at Sarah. "It's a trick my dad used on me to make me behave", she said. "If you exert all your energy on keeping the book balanced on your head, you won't cause any trouble."

"I mean how did you make him listen to you", asked Sarah.

Cari shrugged. "He just listened", she said. She looked back at the door and waited for Jeff to return.

After about ten more minutes, Jeff entered the room. He looked at everyone and gasped at the those who had books on their heads. "Would someone mind explaining why eight of my students have books on their heads", he asked.

Those who didn't have books, aside from Sarah, pointed at Cari in unison. Presently, she was now blushing. She hadn't thought that doing this would attract such attention, but apparently it had. She supposed she should have known, but the heat and humidity was starting to get to her.

"Cari, what happened", asked Jeff.

Cari sighed, and smiled. "They were screwing around, so I made them focus on something besides causing trouble", she said. "At first, they wouldn't listen, so I told them I'd tell a teacher."

Jeff was slightly awestruck. No one student could make those kids behave by themselves. Not unless they beat the living daylights out of them like Larxene. And here Cari, the new camper, had used books and a threat. It couldn't have just been that, though. The probability of her being able to do that herself was very slim. Unless, of course, she actually was what Vincent had called her. If she was really the powerhouse Vincent had alluded to, then it was no wonder. Of course, she didn't seem to be aware of any of that. Vincent must have kept that detail away from her.

"Well… Good", said Jeff.

"Thanks", Cari said, continuing to smile.

* * *

Cari sighed as she went back to her cabin after her last class. It had been a long day. Everyone had been talking and whispering to themselves. And they stopped every time they saw her. They all seemed a bit entranced by her. Either they looked at her in awe, surprise, or fear. And she didn't have the foggiest idea why. Aside from the fact that she was new.

She stepped inside the cabin to find Larxene listening to her mp3 player and looking through her sketchbooks. She frowned. Quickly, she walked over and began to grab her things. Larxene looked up in surprise and Cari took her mp3 player back.

"Larxene, I thought I told you not to touch my things", said Cari. "You're just asking for trouble, aren't you?" She scowled at Larxene.

"Well, if it isn't the little powerhouse of a brat", said Larxene.

Cari glared at Larxene. "Quit calling me brat", she said. "And what's with adding powerhouse? Is that some kind of joke? Real funny."

Larxene stood up and smirked at Cari. "So no one told you yet", she asked. "Hmm, well I'm not surprised. No one told me until my second week here."

Cari raised her eyebrow. "Told me what", she asked shortly.

"That you're an above average level vampire", Larxene said, pointing at Cari. "Word has spread you healed you're first prey. I find that very interesting."

"I just didn't want my friend to bleed to death", said Cari.

"Aw, that's so cute", Larxene said mockingly. "And then how you made that red-head idiot, Jude, listen to you when he'd only listen to me after beating to a pulp? Look, kiddo, you're a little vampire genius." She smiled. "And if you like, I could help you. We prodigies have to stick together, you know."

Cari crossed her arms and scowled at Larxene again. "And what's in it for you", she asked. "You've been nothing but mean since I got here. Surely you wouldn't do it out of the kindness of your heart."

"Oh, I'm hurt", Larxene said overdramatically. "How could you think I can't be nice?"

Cari went over and sat down on her bed. "Do I really have to answer that", she asked. "Shouldn't it be obvious?"

* * *

Cari and Sarah laughed as Larxene came out of the bathroom covered it maple syrup and feathers. As did everyone else in the immediate area. The prank had worked perfectly. And Larxene was furious. Unfortunately, they probably only had about five seconds to run. No doubt Larxene would chase them all over the camp if given the chance.

It had been about a week since Cari had gotten to camp. And she and Sarah had finally finished the prank when Larxene had shown up. They had passed her while coming out of the bathroom. She was going to be in for the time of her life.

Larxene just knew it was Cari and Sarah. She could see the almost guilty expressions they held. And they were the last ones to come out before Larxene. They were going to pay for what they did. And she would make sure of it.

"Cari, Sarah", Larxene screamed furiously. "You two are going to pay for this!"

Cari and Sarah tried to stop laughing, but it was no use. "Oh, yeah", Cari asked, almost gasping for breath. "How much do you want?"

Sarah doubled over. That was almost too much. "I don't get much for allowance", she said, "but I'll do what I can."

Larxene growled. "I'm going to kill you", she roared.

Sarah froze, and Cari finally stopped laughing. She looked Larxene in the eyes. Her face was still red from laughter, but she was now completely serious. "The rules say no fighting outside of the specified class unless you formally challenge someone", she said. Sarah stared at Cari in shock. "You know that."

"Fine", Larxene yelled. "I challenge one of you to a fight for Friday afternoon!"

Everyone else stopped laughing immediately and watched the three of them. Cari could feel the pressure. It was enormous—really almost solid enough to taste—and she was honestly scared. But she refused to let it show. She couldn't back down after that prank. Or else she'd never hear the end of it. Besides, Sarah had already made it painfully obvious how scared she was. She had been beaten up before. Cari didn't want that to happen again because of her own ideas. It wasn't fair.

Cari looked at Sarah. "Are you ok", she asked. Like she needed to, but she needed to make sure she was alright.

Sarah looked at Cari. "I can't fight her", she said. "She's not someone you can easily stand up against. She scares all the other campers."

Cari's face fell a bit. That was the truth. "I know", she said. "But someone's got to fight now." She turned to Larxene and scowled. "I accept the challenge. I'll fight you."

Larxene growled. "Then be ready to lose", she snapped.

Everyone watched in awe as Larxene stormed off and then they all left. This was going to be a very interesting week.

"Ok, what's going on here", a tall brown haired man asked impatiently, pushing his way through the crowd of people still leaving.

Cari and Sarah turned to look at the man. "Dave", said Sarah. "Um… Larxene's kind of pissed right now."

"I heard", said Dave. "Exactly what happened?"

Cari's face fell a bit and she blushed. "We, uh, played a harmless little prank on her", she said. "And then she got pissed, and well… She challenged one of us to a fight and I accepted." She watched him carefully.

"Well, then", said Dave. "When is it for?"

"Friday afternoon", said Cari.

"I'll go talk to Vincent and meet with you later", said Dave. "Meet me at the arena in about two hours."

"Ok", said Cari.

* * *

"Cari, are you mad", Sarah asked frantically.

Cari sighed as she sat in her cabin with Sarah on her bed. Sarah was extremely worried about her right now. She was going to fight Larxene on Friday. Sarah was trying to understand why she was so willing to fight her.

"Look, I know it's probably not very smart, but I have to do this", said Cari.

Sarah gave her a pleading look. "I'm worried about your health", she said. "This is madness. Just forfeit."

"And give Larxene the satisfaction of winning through my cowardice", asked Cari. "Not happening." She grinned mischievously. "Besides, I've never been one back down if I don't have to."

"Cari, don't be so absurd", Sarah said angrily. "You're going to end up in the infirmary for weeks!"

Cari gave Sarah a reassuring smile. "Don' t worry so much", she said. "I'll be fine. Have a little faith in me."

Sarah pursed her lips in a frown. "Look," she said after a few seconds, "I just don't want to see any of my friends hurt. I know you're doing this so I don't have to fight, as well as a few other things, but is it really worth it?"

"Of course", Cari said, not even hesitating. "She needs to be taught a lesson. And who better than me, the new girl?"

"I'm still not sure it's a good idea", said Sarah.

Cari frowned and reached over and slapped the back of Sarah's head. "Baka," she said, "I'm doing this because I have to. Since I accepted the challenge, I can't back out. And I accepted it for everyone here she hurt."

"What does baka even mean", asked Sarah.

"It means idiot", said Cari. She crossed her arms. "Just be there and watch me. I won't lose, because I can't. If I lose, it'll have been useless. And Larxene will be free to terrorize everyone as she pleases."

"…I guess you're right", said Sarah. "Just be careful."

Cari smiled innocently. "I will", she said. "I'm not stupid. And I'm not so reckless I'll get myself killed."

* * *

Cari stood inside the arena. It was huge. She swore you could have fit at least a few hundred people in the bleachers alone. Although why it was so big, she really didn't understand at first. But once she thought about it, she realized just how large a space a fight between vampires could get. The arena needed to be as large as it was just because of their nature.

She sighed and looked at her watch. Dave should be there in a few seconds. And sure enough, when she turned around, she saw him standing right behind her. He was holding a plain, sheathed broadsword.

"I see you came", said Dave. "You really are serious about that fight."

"Of course I am", said Cari. "I accepted the challenge, so I'm going to see it through. No matter what the outcome is."

"Good", said Dave. "Vincent was right. You are brave."

"So what's with the sword", asked Cari.

"Oh, this", Dave said, holding up the sword. He smiled. "This is yours."

Cari took the sword. "Really", she said, frowning. "Hmm, not exactly my style, but I guess it'll work."

Dave chuckled. "This is just what it looks like before it molds to a vampire's personality", he said.

"Interesting", said Cari. "So it could become any weapon you could imagine?"

"Yes", said Dave. His expression changed some, and became almost unrecognizable. "They were originally developed for us when war arose. They were developed to become something that suited us, improbable as they might seem at times. We held on to this tradition even after other abilities, what we call an affinity, started appearing."

Cari listened intently to the explanation given. She'd heard something about wars in a very distant past during her classes. Whenever it had happened, they must have greatly affected everyone in a way that it was never forgotten.

"These days, we normally don't hand them out until we determine a vampire's affinity."

"You mean like control of something or the ability to turn invisible", Cari asked.

Dave nodded. "Yes", he said. "But right now, we're in a rush, so I'm hoping we can find out your particular affinity soon."

"And that also has something to do with the personality", Cari asked.

"That's correct", said Dave. "If you know your personality well enough, you can try and figure it out. Any first guesses?"

Cari thought for a moment and shook her head. "I can't really define myself easily, so I can't give a good guess", she said honestly.

Dave rested a hand on Cari's head. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out", he said.

Cari blushed and scowled. "Would you please not do that", she said. She swatted away his hand. "It makes me feel shorter than I already am."

"Sorry", said Dave. "Didn't know you were sensitive about your height."

Cari crossed her arms. "Don't remind me", she said. "So how do we figure it out? I mean, I'm not sure I can actually just use it on a whim right now."

"Sit down", said Dave. When Cari looked at him funny, he sighed. "Just do it."

"Fine", Cari said, sitting on the ground. "Now what?"

"Close your eyes and relax", said Dave. "Just drown everything out. Focus on yourself and find your affinity. It's within you. It always has been. Now, when you have it, open your eyes and tell me."

Cari did as she was told. At first, she had some trouble concentrating, but eventually she managed. By this time, she was in basically a meditative trance of sorts. If Dave had tried to get her attention, he would have failed miserably. She was completely cut off from the outside world. And she just sat there, searching herself, who she was, for what felt like ages. And then, not having any luck, just stopped looking and waited for it to come to her. While she wasn't a very patient person, per say, she was able to just wait.

When it finally came to her, she realized just how right it was. How it was always there, just waiting for her to notice. In fact, she'd already managed to use it some without even realizing. She supposed it meant everyone was right—she was some kind of prodigy. If she could wield that ability subconsciously, then there was no telling what she might be able to do when thinking about it. She would have to experiment with different ways of using it.

She opened her eyes. "I got it", she said.

"What is it", asked Dave.

Cari smiled.

To Be Continued


	6. Chapter 6-Win Or Lose

**Note: Ok, so I didn't finish the first omake chapter I was working on. I had an idea for it, but just... couldn't get anything to come out in time. But I swear, I'll have something eventually for omake chapters. It'll just be separate from this and posted whenever I have a chapter done. Sorry, I said I'd have one now, but that didn't happen. .**

**Anyway! Happy reading! :D And needless to say, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or, later on, Final Fantasy.**

Chapter 6: Win Or Lose

Cari sat on the roof of her cabin and looked out at the rising sun. It was finally Friday, and she'd gotten up early just to make sure she was completely ready. She looked at her hands. They looked perfectly fine, but the felt a bit sore still. Her training had been quite vigorous. Every chance she got, she trained with Dave. His regiment was strict. And she worked very hard to get through it. She found it took up all her energy each day, but it was worth it. Or at least she believed it was.

Her affinity suited her perfectly. And she was told it was one of the rarer affinities. That it showed she had a lot of potential. Although she hadn't been told how rare it really was, and exactly how much potential she had. Of course, there was also her weapon. While the sword in it's original form wasn't really her thing, what it became was perfect. And she found it easy to use, if only because she was familiar enough with it through research she'd done in her spare time.

Everyone kept asking throughout the week what she was going to do. But she had told them to wait and find out. Because in truth, she didn't even know precisely what she was going to do. She figured she'd know right before the fight. Or she would just do what felt natural. She'd play it by ear, mostly because she didn't know how Larxene really fought. And she highly doubt that anyone would really be able to tell her more than excelling in speed.

Cari looked to her right and saw Sarah coming to sit beside her. "Morning, sunshine", said Sarah. "Are you all set for today?"

Cari smiled. "As ready as I'll ever be", she said. "I mean, there's not much else I can do right now."

"You're awfully calm about this", said Sarah. "You sure you're ok?"

Cari chuckled a bit. "I don't know", she said. "I'm actually scared as hell. Larxene is pretty damn scary, and I'm not exactly the bravest person out there."

"Well I think you're pretty brave", said Sarah.

Cari blinked at Sarah. "What do you mean", she said.

"I mean that you admit you're scared, but you're not backing out", said Sarah. "To be brave means you face your fears. Not being completely devoid of them."

"Oh, yeah", said Cari. "Then… maybe I am really brave. Who knows." Cari looked back to watch the sunrise. "Hey Sarah, what's your favorite time of day?"

Sarah thought for a minute. "Afternoon or evening", she said. "Why?"

"Just kind of curious", said Cari. "My favorite is sunrise."

"Why's that", asked Sarah.

Cari closed her eyes. "Because it reminds me that even if you're surrounded by darkness, the light will always come." She looked back at Sarah. "It always comes, no matter what. And it always finds you."

Sarah smiled. "You know, I never really thought about it that way", she said. "Now that you mention it, it does make sense." She poked Cari's shoulder. "Where did that come from, anyway?"

Cari laughed a minute. "Just something I've been thinking about when I'm feeling a bit down and out", she said. "I just like that, because it makes me believe things will get better. You know, like on a cloudy day, when the sun reappears. You always seem to feel better." She shrugged. "Or at least I do."

"You're always thinking, aren't you", asked Sarah.

"Yeah, pretty much", said Cari. "It's one of my favorite things to do. There's usually always something on my mind."

Cari watched as Sarah stood up. "So have you thought about how you're going to fight Larxene", she asked.

Cari frowned and stood up as well. "No, I haven't figured anything out yet", she said. "I'm planning on mostly winging it. Because all I really know is that her main strength is speed, and that her affinity is lightening. Besides, even if I have something planned, things might change to where my plan is useless. And I don't like having a plan and it being useless."

"That's true", Sarah said, nodding. She looked at Cari. "So what's your affinity?"

Cari grinned mischievously. "That's for me to know, and everyone else to find out later", she said. "Besides, Larxene could be listening. And I need every advantage I can get. So the more I know and the less she knows, the better."

Sarah sighed. "True again", she said. "Any hints, though?"

"I suppose one couldn't hurt", said Cari. "It's something that's like me. If you figure it out, just keep it to yourself."

* * *

Cari sat with Sarah and her roommate, a dirty blond haired girl with glasses named Lydia, at lunch. Though, there were several others around or watching them. Or rather, watching Cari. And trying to talk to her, mostly to find out what she was going to do. And all the attention was giving Cari a slight headache. As everyone was making so much noise. Or at least more than usual. And they were cramping her in. She didn't care for closed spaces much, as they didn't give for much room to move.

She was beginning to get really tired of everyone bugging her. That's all they had done for the past week. They kept trying to talk to her. See if she was really serious about fighting Larxene. Some of them thought she was suicidal, while others were simply in awe or fear. But they were all amazed by her. She had been so willing to accept the challenge.

"Will you guys just shut the hell up", Cari finally snapped. Everyone stopped talking. "Honestly, I'm getting a headache! Of course I'm serious about fighting, and I'm not suicidal! I'm not about to give away my only advantage, so stop asking about my affinity and weapon! Now all of you, leave me alone and let me have some peace!" Everyone backed away from Cari and went back to their own tables.

Lydia glanced away for a minute. "Well, that takes care of one problem", she said.

"Finally", Cari growled somewhat impatiently. "Now maybe I can actually focus."

Sarah stared at Cari. "You still amaze me, you know", she said.

Cari looked at Sarah. "How's that", she asked.

"The way you can make someone do something without beating them to a pulp", said Sarah. "Around here, new campers are rarely listened to."

Cari shrugged. "I guess I'm just someone you should listen to now", she said.

Lydia frowned. "Has anyone ever told you that you don't give yourself enough credit", she asked. "I mean, and Larxene of all people was the first to tell you, you're a prodigy."

"I try not to make a habit of boasting", said Cari. "I don't want to end up with an ego the size of a skyscraper."

Sarah sighed. "Ok, we understand that", she said. "But you should really be honest with your strengths. You're powerful, and everyone knows it."

Cari frowned. "I may be powerful, but none of us really know how powerful", she said. "And honestly, I could almost care less. It's not like I'd really use it much."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "You'd be surprised at some of the sticky situations you might get into", she said. "But anyway, you seriously don't have anything planned?"

"Well, nothing much in particular", said Cari. "Some thoughts on what I should probably do in certain situations, but no real plan. I figure I'll know what to do when the fight starts."

"Do you ever make plans", Sarah asked worriedly.

"Hmm, of course", said Cari. "But sometimes just pieces and parts that fit together later somehow. Or backup plans in case something goes wrong. I'm almost constantly thinking, so coming up with something kind of on the spot isn't hard."

"Do you really think you can beat Larxene", asked Lydia. "I mean with how you plan to deal with the fight. It sounds like you intend to just play it by ear."

"Hmm, I'm not sure if I can beat her, but I know I won't lose that easily", said Cari. "But I can't really afford to lose, so I guess I have to win at all costs." She sighed. "If I didn't have to fight, I wouldn't. Because I don't like it. But like I've kept saying, I can't back down."

"Just remember," said Sarah, "be careful. She's very brutal."

"Hey, I already told you", Cari said, rolling her eyes. "I'm not stupid."

* * *

Cari stood outside the arena with Dave. She looked up at him. Her face showed her panic. Right about now would be the time she panicked. It always went like that. Something important wouldn't play with her until the last minute. The anxiety would just build up on her, and eventually, she'd just snap.

And right now, she felt even more anxiety than she had felt in her entire life. Honestly, it was beginning to border on sheer terror. She had no idea right now exactly how she even managed to even accept Larxene's challenge in the first place. Was she just being stupid? Was she even thinking? No, she was thinking. She was thinking that Larxene was going to fight no matter what she did, and that Sarah had already been through that once before. Although for being stupid? There was, as much as she said otherwise, a pretty good chance of that.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine", said Dave. "Just remember your training."

"Easy for you to say", Cari said, her voice becoming shaky. "You're not the one who has to fight."

"Have a little faith in yourself, Cari", said Dave. "Look, if you win, you'll have proved what you wanted to."

"One week of training", Cari mumbled, looking away. "No, not even that." She looked back at Dave. "Exactly what do you expect me to do? Go all ape-shit on her?"

"Just do your best", said Dave. "Even if you lose, we won't think anything less of you."

Cari scowled at Dave. "Actually, I kind of think some of the other campers will", she said.

Her anger was beginning to rise a bit now. If she lost, no one would beat Larxene. That's what she believed, and it was probably the truth. The only reason she was fighting Larxene was to try to stop her from being such a bully. To show that someone can top her, that she wasn't invincible.

"If you're afraid of losing, then do your best to win", said Dave. "Never let the fear of losing keep you from fighting for what you want."

"Right", Cari nodded. She needed to believe in herself and just do her best.

She took a deep breath and entered the arena. It was do or die now, figuratively speaking. There was no turning back. Everyone was watching her. And Larxene was standing only a few yards away from her. So even if she regretted coming, she could only fight. Fight and win.

Finally really thinking about it, she realized she should have listened to her dad and not played that prank on Larxene. But it was too little, too late now. She had done it. And accepted Larxene's challenge. The damage was done, and she had to deal with it. She'd made her own bed, and now she had to sleep in it. It was just that simple, and no amount of words would do anything now. She supposed it was just time to get down to business and win as she had come to do.

"I see you decided not to forfeit", Larxene sneered. "You really are suicidal. I would have thought you'd have turned tail and run."

Cari's scowl deepened. "And let you gloat about automatically winning by forfeit", she asked. "Never. I accepted your challenge, and I never back out of something unless I can't avoid it. Do you honestly believe I'd really run away?"

"You must be stupid", said Larxene. "You might be powerful, but with only a week of training, you won't last." She summoned a pair of yellow and black daggers. "I highly doubt that you'd be able to discover your affinity within that amount of time. And you probably don't even have a real weapon. This will be so easy."

"Don't be so sure of your victory before the fight's even begun", said Cari. She swung her right arm out and summoned her own weapon. It was a katana, a pure white blade and a black guard and handle. She brought the katana to hold it horizontally in front of her. "Overconfidence does lead to defeat."

"Oh, I'm so scared now", Larxene sneered. She quickly attacked Cari.

Cari blocked the attack. She knew this wasn't going to be easy. She didn't expect that it would be. It wasn't like in just one move she could bring Larxene down. It would be harder. Much, much harder. Not some child's game.

Larxene continued to slash at Cari. And all she could do was block the attacks. She was fast, almost too fast. Cari was completely unable to get even one attack in. And she knew that, like this, she wouldn't last very long. She needed to do something. And soon.

Cari found an opening and took it. It wasn't much, but it was enough to catch Larxene off guard. Now it was her turn to go on the offensive. Doing an upper-swing, Cari gained the advantage. She continued relentlessly, and began to push Larxene back bit by bit.

Within the next several minutes of the fight, Larxene began to kick at Cari, as well. With one swift kick in the gut, she knocked Cari to the ground. Cari tried to get back up, but Larxene wouldn't have it. And kept kicking her.

* * *

Cari collapsed onto the ground. She was running out of energy. Or at least it felt like that. The training was taking it's toll on her. And it was far from over. And Dave was still going strong. She knew it would be rough, but she never expected it to be this rough.

"Get up", Dave commanded.

Cari continued to lay on the ground. She hurt everywhere. And felt like she didn't have the strength to get up.

Dave scowled. "I said get up", he commanded again. He held his claymore pointed at Cari. "How do you expect to win against Larxene if you can't even hold up against me?"

Cari gasped into the ground. She couldn't even land a single blow on him. Like this, she had no hopes of winning. Maybe, just maybe, she should give up before she got killed.

She lifted her head to look at Dave. There were many small cuts on her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears. And her now freely flowing hair draping into her face. She couldn't take this anymore. She hurt—hurt badly. But she glared at him. Growled. The frustration of not being able to even fight put anger in her eyes. And also fear. One could plainly see she was scared.

"I can't", Cari huffed.

"You can, and you will", said Dave. "Have you forgotten why you're fighting? What you want?"

"But I can't fight", Cari tried to snap. Her energy was draining by the minute. "We both know I can't even get up! I don't have the strength to!"

"You do", said Dave. He was becoming irritated with Cari. She was doubting herself. "Stopping acting as if you're still human. You're not. You're much more than that now. You no longer have the limitations of a human. Now get back up and fight for real."

Dave was right. Cari wasn't a human anymore. She was a vampire. And her human limitations were gone. She needed to stop acting like they were still there. And she knew, just knew, that acting without those limitations would give her more strength and stamina. She just had to tap into those new reserves. If she could manage to at least do that, her training would actually get somewhere tonight.

* * *

Cari had enough of being kicked, and decided it was time to stop acting with the human limitations. She flitted up and about five feet away from Larxene, and wiped the blood off her cheek and licked it. Her eyes glowed icy silver with determination. She was done playing around completely.

Obviously, so was Larxene. Cari could feel the static in the air. And it centered around Larxene. She charged one of the daggers with electricity and threw it at Cari.

Cari knew better than to block the dagger. As doing so would probably cause the electric current to still affect her. She quickly dodged it and ran towards Larxene and went into attack.

Larxene, however, charged the other dagger and ran to attack as well. And only she managed to lay a blow.

Cari fell, but caught herself with the sword. She stood up and narrowly dodged Larxene's next attack, only her hair tie being cut, releasing the loose bun of hair. She jumped into the air as Larxene attempted to kick her off her feet. Using her affinity, she held herself in the air and turned to face her.

Larxene smirked. "So you can practically fly", she asked. "It still won't help you much."

"Just one of the things I can do with my affinity", Cari said, swinging the katana and causing a sharp gust of wind to hit Larxene and send her flying with a large cut in her shirt. And quite the large gash in her stomach.

Larxene grabbed her other dagger and struggled to get up. "A-air", she gasped. "No way!"

Cari landed back on the ground. "Oh yes", she said, swinging again, this time cutting Larxene's arm.

Larxene gasped. Cari was definitely stronger than she originally thought. But there was no way she'd lose to an upstart like her. She flitted behind her and charged both daggers, and attacked. There was no way she would be able to dodge that attack.

Cari fell forward onto the ground. She quickly got up and moved back, slashing another gust of sharp wind at Larxene again.

The fight was starting to last too long now. She needed to end it. And soon. Or else she might not last much longer. And she wasn't about to lose. Not now.

Cari focused her energy on creating a gust of wind around Larxene. Before she had the chance to get back up, the wind started gaining speed around her. Very soon, it was almost a tornado.

With Larxene trapped, Cari could easily attack. It didn't matter that she couldn't see her. The tornado was too small to let her move very well.

Cari began slashing sharp wind at Larxene at alarming speeds. She knew it wouldn't be much longer. Not with the speed she was attacking at. Within the next minute, she released Larxene from the tornado.

Larxene collapsed on the ground with numerous cuts. Forcing herself back up, she lunged at Cari. She quickly sidestepped and hit her with the hilt of her sword. Larxene fell back to the ground.

As Larxene attempted to get up, Cari pointed the tip of her sword at Larxene's chin. "This fight is over", she said. "You've lost."

"I can still fight", Larxene tried to snap, but her voice was wavering. Even her daggers had completely vanished.

Cari moved the tip of the sword onto Larxene's chin, drawing some blood and forcing her completely onto the ground. "You don't even have the strength to snap at me", she said. "How can you say you can still fight if you can't even yell?" She could see the fear flickering in Larxene's eyes. Even she knew the fight was over. But she was just trying to be stubborn. "Don't be stupid and think you can even get up on your own. Because you probably can't. And if you haven't noticed, your daggers are gone."

Larxene growled, more or less. "…F-fine, you win", she said.

Cari dismissed her sword and bent down, and offered Larxene a hand. Larxene blinked a few times. "Take the hand", said Cari.

Larxene hesitantly took Cari's hand. "Th-thanks", she said.

"Don't worry about it", said Cari.

* * *

Cari yawned as she lay on her bed listening to her music while writing a letter to Zexion. She was glad to have some peace at the moment. And hoped that the rest of the summer would be that way. Especially since she didn't want to lose anymore clothes. She really couldn't afford to run low on clothes to only have Vexen send more and be nearly out by the end of summer. It wasn't as if she had a job of any kind.

It was pretty much the same as before the prank that started the whole mess. Except for one thing. One very, very important thing. Or rather person—Larxene.

After the two of them had been healed, she decided that she'd swear loyalty to Cari. Which, needless to say, freaked her out. It wasn't that she didn't like Larxene listening to her. She kind of enjoyed it. But it was strange. And not to mention she was now very popular among everyone. For the most part. There were a few that didn't bother her too much. But overall, she was a big deal to everyone.

Larxene walked over to watch Cari. "What are you writing", she asked.

Cari looked up at Larxene and blushed. "A letter", she said.

"Is it to your boyfriend", asked Larxene.

"Uh, yeah", Cari said, still blushing. "I promised I'd write to him as often as I could. But I'm not particularly happy about having to lie to him."

Larxene sat down on the edge of Cari bed. "So he's a human", she asked.

"Yeah", said Cari. "We haven't even been together that long though." She frowned. "I was changed the very night we had our first date. And then the next week, I only got to see him once."

"That must have sucked", said Larxene. "Though I wouldn't really know. I never really ever fell in love." She watched for a few minutes as Cari finished the letter. "By the way, I never asked you. What was your motivation for fighting?"

Cari sat up and looked at Larxene, blinking in surprise. "Well, I guess… I was fighting for everyone", she said. Larxene stared at her funny. "I mean, when if first got here, I kind of saw you as a bully. See, I'm not exactly the type just to fight for myself. The people I care about mean the world to me. And if I like someone, even just a little, I'll care about them. And I don't like seeing anyone hurt if it can be helped. I'd prefer not to fight if I could get out of it, too. But I will if I have to."

"I see", said Larxene. "You seem like the selfless type."

Cari shrugged. "I don't know about selfless", she said. "But I like to make sure those I care about are ok. Because then I'm happy." She smiled sheepishly. "And when I really think about it, being that way, I start thinking it's kind of selfish. Because I always want to be happy. And if someone's sad or something, it makes me sad."

"I don't see how that's selfish", said Larxene.

Cari laughed. "That's probably because I think way too much", she said. "My dad says I'm the spitting image of my mom. Actually, my entire family says that."

"Did something happen to your mom", Larxene asked.

Cari frowned sadly. "She died in an accident when I was real young", she said. "I don't remember a lot, but she was amazing. She's someone I respect a lot. Because, come hell or high water, she always did what she needed to. And never did anything that she considered important half way. She always managed to take care of us, somehow. And always made sure Dad didn't forget to eat something. I guess after she died, I took on a lot more responsibilities."

"Sounds like you take care of things around the house", said Larxene.

"Well, more or less, I guess", said Cari. "It's not like Dad's very good at that stuff. He's a scientist, and he gets wrapped up in his work so easily, he becomes forgetful at times." She smiled sweetly. "So what about you? What's your family like?"

"Dysfunctional", said Larxene. "I'm planning on moving when I go home from camp. I'm leaving a bit early this summer so I don't have to start at a new school after it's already started."

"And your family's letting you move", asked Cari.

Larxene laughed, if hollowly. "They want me to move", she said. "At least they're still going to pay for me."

* * *

Cari stood outside her now empty cabin and smiled. It was now the end of the summer for the campers, and she was ready to go home. She couldn't wait. It had been an entire seven weeks since she'd seen her friends. And she wanted to see how much they'd changed, if at all, over the summer.

She knew they'd notice a change in her. And it would be a big change that they saw. She knew exactly what changes they'd see, too. It wasn't that hard to tell. Her attitude was more bold, she had an even stronger determination to not just watch things happen, because now she could actually do something. And she knew that they'd see her as more attractive. It wasn't that uncommon. She wondered how everyone at school would look at her.

Turning around with her bags in tow, she saw her friends waiting for her. Or rather, the ones who hadn't already left. Lydia and Sarah. Along with a surprising boy, the red-headed Jude. Cari gave a sighing smile. She was going to miss them a lot, and hoped they'd visit.

"So you're all set to go", asked Sarah.

"Yeah, I'm ready", said Cari. "I'll admit, I'm going to miss it here. It was fun."

"Well, we're glad you had fun", said Lydia. "And be careful you don't get into any trouble."

Cari grinned mischievously. "Now, why would I get in trouble", she asked.

Sarah laughed. "You just be careful, then", she said. She looked at Jude and shoved him forward a bit. "Isn't there something you wanted to say?"

Cari looked at Jude and he blushed. He rubbed his neck nervously. "Um… I just wanted to apologizing for the trouble I gave you on your first day of classes", he said.

Cari chuckled lightly. "Don't worry about it", she said.

"Uh, thanks", said Jude. "Do you think we could be friends?"

"I don't see why not", said Cari. "If you're ever in Twilight Town, be sure to look for me." She looked at Sarah and Lydia too. "You two feel free to visit as well."

"Will do", said Sarah. "I'd like to see what it's like there, anyway. Maybe when I get there, you could show me around. I'd love to meet your friends. They sound pretty cool."

"I live kind of far away, so I might not be able to visit much", said Lydia. "But I'll definitely see you next summer, right?"

"Yeah, just depends on how Dad's taken care of himself", said Cari. "He can be kind of helpless without me at times. I need to make sure he didn't starve while I was gone."

Jude smiled. "Yeah, let's hope he didn't so you can come back", he said. "I really look forward to being good friends by next summer."

"Yup", Cari giggled a bit. She turned to leave. Vincent was waiting for her to get done. She waved to them. "Well, see you sometime."

To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7-Homecoming

**Note: And here's a new chapter. I hadn't wanted to spend a lot of time on the camp when I wrote this, mostly because of the fact that, well, there are far more interesting things that will happen and take up many chapters. As it is, I'm gaining chapters in rewriting this. I'm being more descriptive in places, so I suppose it only makes sense.**

**Happy reading! And as always, if you have any questions or want to say something regarding the story thus far, please don't hesitate to send me a review.**

Chapter 7: Homecoming

Cari walked out onto the deck and sat down on the steps. She was home, and had just finished unpacking. Now she could just relax outside. It was quite nice today. The sun was shining, and it wasn't too hot. Just warm with a nice breeze. She loved days like this. And they had always said in most fiction that vampires either burned in sunlight or just hated it. It was absolutely ridiculous. It really didn't even irritate them past burning easier.

She was about to get out her cell phone, that she had just gotten back, when she saw a boy with spiky caramel brown hair coming up on the sidewalk on a skateboard. The only problem? He was freaking out—a lot. Cari watched as he fell right in front of her.

"Nice one, Sora", Cari said flatly. "Ten out of ten points for falling flat on your face."

Sora got up and pouted. "Gee, thanks", he said.

Cari smiled at him. "You're welcome", she said. "Roxas still trying to teach you how to skateboard? I thought after the last fiasco, he would have given up."

"No, he hasn't given up yet", said Sora. "You seem to be as witty as ever."

Cari laughed. "Hey, you made it so easy, I couldn't resist", she said.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Anyway, you're back", he said.

"Yup", said Cari. "I'm home. So where's everyone else? I would have thought they'd be here with you."

"No, they're all at home I think", said Sora. "Have you called anyone yet?"

"I just got done unpacking", said Cari. "I was just about to call Zexion when you showed up. Besides, if I had already called both Zexion and Yuki, everyone would have already known. Because, while Zexion probably would just head over here without telling everyone else, Yuki would have had everyone over here."

"Good point", said Sora. He picked up the skateboard. "I think I should go now. I kind of borrowed this from Roxas without telling him, and he's probably not too happy about it."

Cari started laughing. "You idiot", she said. "You probably should get going now. I'll see you later."

Cari waved as Sora took off down the street again. He was going to get it when either he found Roxas, or vice versa. She laughed to herself at the thought of it. It would be interesting to see it. Though she half didn't want to. Roxas could be terrifying when he was truly angry. And he had a bit of a short temper to begin with. It was definitely quite the contrast from Sora—who was particularly forgiving more often than not.

She stood up and headed back inside. While it was nice out, she wanted to take a nice little nap before doing anything else. Even though she had originally planned to call Zexion first. That could wait a bit. Because she realized just how tired she was from getting home. The drive from the camp to her house was hardly what anyone would call short. She'd been cooped up in Vincent's car for about half the day.

When she got back to her room, she closed and locked the door. She didn't want Vexen coming in and disturbing her without knocking. She went over to her window and looked out for a minute. Right now, she really hoped Yuki wouldn't show up right outside and start knocking on it or anything like that. Because as much as she loved her friend dearly, Yuki could get a little loud. And right now, Cari just wanted some piece and quiet. Then again, Yuki had a tendency to show up just when she wanted to be alone.

Cari was about to close the curtains when, lo and behold, Yuki appeared from one of the sides, grinning. Cari sighed and opened the window.

"Hi, Yuki", said Cari. "What's making you grin like an idiot?"

Yuki pouted. "Is that any way to greet your best friend", she asked.

"Sorry, I'm tired", said Cari. "I was about to take a nap."

"I wanted to see if you were home yet", Yuki said, smiling again. She jumped in through the window, making Cari move to the side. She closed the window. "No time for napping now. Is that what you've been doing for half the time at camp?"

Cari sighed. "No", she said. "Not really. I barely got any naps—you might as well have called it a boot-camp at times. But I didn't get all that much sleep last night either because I was up half the night getting everything packed up again."

"Yeah, uh-huh", Yuki said flatly. She rolled her eyes and hopped onto Cari's bed. "Anyway, have you watched the news yet? They still haven't found the girl from the beginning of summer."

Cari went over and sat by Yuki. "Really", she asked. "Has anyone turned up missing?"

"No", Yuki said, shaking her head a bit. "And that's what's strange. No one's missing. And they have no leads. I'm surprised they haven't given up."

Cari scowled. "They should", she said. Yuki stared at her in confusion. "Because that's one mystery that they'll never solve. Because no one's missing or dead."

Yuki furrowed her brow. "What do you mean", she asked suspiciously. "How would you know anything about it? What do you know?"

Cari glanced away. "Just… Yuki, I need to tell you something", she said after a short pause. The entire deal was nagging at her to no end. She hadn't lied to Yuki, but she hadn't been honest, either.

Yuki was even more confused now. "Just what do you know that you haven't said", she asked.

Cari walked over to the window and closed the curtain. It seemed like a very pointless action from anyone else's point of view, but it made her feel a little more comfortable. It meant that if she had to show Yuki anything at all, they would have complete privacy. And with the door locked, not even Vexen would be bothering them. Although he also knew for a fact that Cari had been heavily debating when to tell Yuki about her status as a vampire.

She walked back over to Yuki and sat down, resting her back against Yuki's. "Well, first, I have a question", said Cari. She mentally gulped, knowing it might not work very well. But she needed to have faith in her friend. "What… do you think of vampires? Like if they were real."

"I think they're ok", said Yuki. "I think, personality wise, they're a lot like humans. Some are good, some are bad." Yuki frowned. "Why do you ask? What does this have to do with the forest mystery?"

Cari hesitated for a second. And it was a long second. "Because… I was attacked by one", she said.

Yuki was rendered speechless for a good long minute. When had Cari been attacked by a vampire? And what did it have to do with the mystery in the forest from the beginning of summer break? If she didn't know any better, she'd say they were completely unrelated. But she knew better—the two topics were completely related. Cari wouldn't have brought this up if it happened at camp. In that event, she might have let her know in a letter.

"You were the one in the forest", she breathed, trying to control her basic instinct to do something virtually rash and barely thought out. Though had she not tried to recall all that she'd been told the next morning, she'd have accused her best friend of lying to her. Never once had Cari directly lied. She just never told the truth. "Speaking logically, no one could have survived such a thing. So… How did you survive?"

"Another vampire came and offered me a chance to keep living", said Cari. "So now, I'm a vampire. I wasn't allowed to see more than one person because it was technically too dangerous."

"That sounds reasonable", said Yuki. She forced herself to think logically. It was all she could really do now. If she didn't, she'd probably snap and lash out for not being told originally.

"I was told I could tell one person", said Cari. "And I was going to. But I was too conflicted to decide who to tell."

"So then Zexy doesn't know", the blond asked. "I guess that makes sense, too." She paused. "When I saw you last, you remember that I asked about Axy, right?"

"Yeah." Cari knew this was coming, and accepted it calmly. After all, Yuki had been concerned for her porcupine boyfriend. "You don't need to repeat it. I was informed that human blood was, in effect, better to drink. Vincent pointed Axel out that night, and I had no real way of arguing."

"So I guess he knows too", asked Yuki.

Cari shook her head, regardless of whether Yuki noticed or not. "We all agreed that it might be best if his memory was locked away. Axel really didn't mind either way, but Vincent had a point. It's dangerous knowing."

"And you're telling me anyway", Yuki commented dryly. "Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

The brunette vampire chuckled. "You'd want to know regardless of the danger."

"True", Yuki conceded. "So what was the camp about?"

"Well, I had a lot to learn", said Cari. "I'm not kidding when you said it might as well be called a boot camp at times. They waste no time in teaching defense. If I had to guess, the vampire part of the magical world was almost a militaristic society. But that was never really explained."

Yuki sighed. Technically speaking, what Cari said was a lot to take in—given what it also implied. There was a lot to this world that she hadn't been aware of before. She thought she knew things, but apparently she didn't know as much as she thought.

"Am I the only one who knows right now", she asked

"No. Dad knew from the start", said Cari. "By his reaction when I talked with him after it happened, he's probably known a while." After all, he seemed to know more than he was really saying. She was curious, but knew she probably shouldn't pry too much right now.

"In that case, he probably never told you for the same reason Axy doesn't know", said Yuki. She turned to face Cari. "So what is there to know about vampires, anyway?"

Cari smiled, relieved that they were off the topic of what had happened to her. She really didn't like talking about it. "That's the fun part, I guess. But you know you can't really tell anyone any of this, right? They'd send you to the nearest mental institution and have you diagnosed with Schizophrenia or something."

"I belong in the ward", she laughed. "I'm surprised they haven't come for me yet."

* * *

Cari sat up on her bed. She hadn't fallen asleep at all. As much as she tried to relax, thoughts kept running through her head. All about Zexion. She couldn't help thinking about how she'd go about telling him she was a vampire one day. Sure, telling Yuki had went very well. But she had no idea how Zexion would react. She didn't know enough about how he viewed vampires yet. It just seemed to bother her now more than ever. Then again, she really didn't want him to get mixed up in her new problems.

She got up and opened the door. Lucky thing Vexen hadn't wanted her for anything. She probably wouldn't have even heard him anyway. She had learned to tune things out even better than before. It was almost a skill now—she'd block out the world and only tune in when she wanted to. So very much like a cat, which Vexen had at least once accused her of being.

She walked out to the living room and sat down on the couch. She was insanely bored, and had been seriously hoping Zexion would call or something. Every time she tried to call him, he didn't answer. Had he been doing something? No matter the reasoning, it was getting to be highly irritating. If she didn't talk to him soon, she might go crazy. Letters only conveyed so much.

Cari heard a knocking on the door. She jumped up and hurried over to it and quickly opened it. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Zexion", she squealed. She quickly grabbed him in a hug.

Zexion smiled and hugged her back. "It's good to see you, too", he said, kissing her cheek. "I've missed you."

Cari blushed. "Yeah, I missed you, too", she said. "Now come in." She let go of Zexion and quickly pulled him inside. She was so happy he'd come. At least now she wouldn't be bored to tears for a while.

"You really have gotten stronger since you went to camp", said Zexion.

He didn't say it, but he also felt something else besides any physical attributes. It was something that nearly rolled off her skin. Something about her had changed over the summer. It wasn't anything right in your face—he'd only realized it after realizing how strong she'd become. There was something that was attached to her—no, almost a part of her now—that was frightening. It unnerved him, but those two things were all that changed.

Cari laughed innocently as they sat down on the couch. "Of course I have, silly", she said.

Zexion just smiled. Though he had a distinct feeling that Cari wasn't about to really go into great detail on any other changes. Eventually, perhaps, but not now. She seemed to want something kept to herself right now, and really, he felt he had to respect that. He just hoped that whatever it was never bothered her. If it did, then he would have to push to find out what it was.

"You know, I tried to call you earlier", said Cari. "But I couldn't get a hold of you."

"My cell phone needed to charge", said Zexion. "Sorry about that."

"I figured it would be something like that", said Cari. "So what happened while I was gone that wasn't mentioned in the letters?"

"Nothing too interesting", said Zexion. He gave a small, nervous smile. "Though, I will admit that Yuki kind of scares me now."

Cari almost smacked her forehead. Yuki didn't make a habit of doing so, but she could be particularly intimidating. She felt she might even scare someone from the magic society. Although if she had to be honest, she really didn't know why that was. Yuki hadn't exactly filled her in on all the details of her life.

"What did she do to you", she asked suspiciously.

"She didn't actually do anything to me", said Zexion. "But she did threaten me. She said, and I quote, 'Cari's my best friend. You break her heart, and I'll break your face. I won't stand to see her hurt because of you.' She seems to be quite violent at times."

Cari sighed. "She is at times", she said. "She usually isn't, but sometimes she is. But it usually takes something real nasty to make her snap. She gets very protective when it comes to her friends. Sorry she said that to you."

Zexion put his hand on Cari's head and smiled. "Don't worry about it", he said. "She's a good friend. A little crazy, but good."

"Newsflash, Zexy", said Cari. "We're all crazy. That's why we're friends." She smiled brightly. "If we weren't crazy, we'd be normal." She moved his hand off her head. "And trust me, normal is boring."

"That's true", Zexion laughed. He sighed. "It's a shame there's only less than a week before school starts again. I was really hoping to have the entire summer with you. Camp ruined that."

Cari's smile saddened. "Yeah, that's the only thing I really hated about it", she said. "I know. Why don't we go to the beach sometime? You know, just the two of us."

Zexion smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like fun", he said. "Let's go right before the first day back. That way we can end the summer with something special."

Cari blushed. "Of course", she said quickly. "I can't wait!"

"Good", said Zexion.

Cari smirked leaned towards him a bit and kissed him. They'd been apart for nearly the entire summer, and she had hated that. Had none of the events leading to her becoming a vampire ever happened, they'd have been doing this throughout the entire summer. And she wouldn't be afraid of accidentally scaring him away just because of what she was now. There were too many ways he could react to her new condition. She hoped for the best for when she told him, but was afraid none the less.

Zexion felt the need in the kiss and responded quickly. He was there for her—and he always would be. He would make sure she knew that, because it was almost as if she was afraid he wouldn't be there. Why that was? He really didn't know that. But he did know she needed him with her now that she had him. It wasn't hard to see or understand. It worked that way for both of them. He would take care of her, and she would take care of him. It sounded so cliché in his mind, but he couldn't escape that feeling.

When she pulled away, he could see her eyes watering. Was she really about to cry? It looked that way, though he could only think that it was due to more extreme emotions from being away for the entire summer. It was obvious she wanted things to turn out differently. He could understand that. But there was something else—one thing he just couldn't place. Something must have happened while she was at camp. But what?

All the same, he pulled her into a hug.

Cari wiped the tears away before they could fall. She couldn't really express what was wrong right now, partially because she didn't know how. It was something that really needed said, but she couldn't make herself say it. Still, she got the distinct impression that he understood at least that she didn't want him to leave her. Whether or not he understood anything else from her expression, she wasn't sure.

"I really, really missed you", she said.

Zexion nodded. "I know."

She officially didn't want to go back to camp next summer. Not without Zexion at least knowing what was really going on. But then she'd have to make sure he could really handle the truth. She had to make sure he'd be ready when he told her. And she had to make sure she was ready above all else. If she wasn't ready, then how could she expect Zexion to be ready? Hopefully, she would feel both of them were ready soon.

Cari pulled away and smiled, wanting to find a new subject that wouldn't make her feel so pained. "So is there anything in particular you wanted to do?"

To Be Continued


	8. Chapter 8-Back To School

**Note: Nearly forgot what day it was. Anyway, this is the new chappie. Also, I'd like to note something. I'm seriously changing and adding in events in this updated version. And yes, that does mean there's likely to be more during the second summer at camp. I've also done some serious character development on one of the villains, but you'll have to wait to find out about that. I'm also introducing characters who weren't in the original. And some show up a good deal more than they did originally.**

**Happy reading! And please review. As a general rule, I'm here because I like to write, but reviews help in motivation.**

_**Now, before I forget. By the time chapter 33 rolls around, I'll have changed the rating from T to M due to violence. THERE IS NO SEXUAL CONTENT.**_

Chapter 8: Back To School

Cari's alarm clock beeped loudly and obnoxiously. She groaned and sat up, turning the alarm clock off. She hated waking up in the mornings. Especially early mornings. Not that she hated the morning itself. She loved mornings. She just didn't like having to get up. It didn't seem to make a lot of sense, but it was how she seemed to function. Her friends never understood it, but then she didn't, either.

She stood up and stretched a bit. Yawning, she went over to her dresser and grabbed the clothes she'd set out the night before and got dressed. It was a black t-shirt with lightening bolts she'd gotten from Larxene, and a pair of knee length, slightly worn, blue denim shorts that she didn't wear much.

Grabbing her things, she made her way out to the kitchen. She smelled some coffee and wanted it. It was the first day of school, and unlike break, she needed it to help her wake up. Or she would be quite grumpy, and very likely to fall asleep again. That was the last thing she needed or wanted right now.

A lot of people had seen that, and didn't always know what was going until a little too late. That time usually came when she snapped at them. Either that or she actually fell asleep during class or before the bell, making her late. At which point, no one who got involved was happy and she would risk a detention if she caught the wrong teacher. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't teacher's pet.

She got to the kitchen and went to pour herself a cup of coffee. "Morning, Dad", she said, now sitting down at the table.

"Morning", said Vexen. He sat at the other side, reading the paper. He put the paper down. "More blood found in the forest. A deer was found dead and drained of blood. Know anything about it?"

Cari frowned. "I don't", she said. "I didn't go hunting last night. So that wasn't me. Whoever it was, though, was careless. It could have been the one who attacked me, or it could have been someone else."

"Well, whoever it was, they've created a potential problem", said Vexen. "You'd better be careful you don't slip. God only knows what could happen if word got out."

Cari sighed and sipped on her coffee some more. "I know", she said. She didn't need to be told twice. She knew if someone found out, the consequences could be dire. "If I'm not careful, it could cause a potential war. And quite frankly, I don't think anyone wants that." Most definitely not for what could be the hundredth time in all of written history.

"I'm glad you understand the situation", said Vexen. "Just act normal, and don't draw too much attention to yourself."

Cari couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes. "I know", she said. "Act like I'm still human. Seriously, it doesn't take a genius to know that. You'd have to be completely brain dead first." She gave a small, confident chuckle. "And while people can be idiots, I should think they're at least concerned with keeping any secrets they may have."

Vexen raised an eyebrow. "You seem incredibly confident", he said. "I hope your new abilities haven't gone to your head."

Cari tilted her head musingly and gave a slight smirk. "They haven't", she said. "Mom would probably scold me if they had."

Vexen sighed. "Just be careful", he said.

* * *

Smiling, Cari entered the school to find an arm around her shoulder that belonged to a pink haired boy. "Morning, Cari", he said, smiling calmly.

Cari rolled her eyes and gently pushed his arm off her. "Yeah, morning Marluxia", she said. "Looks like you missed me."

Marluxia laughed a bit. "We all did", he said. "Why did you just call most of us?"

Cari shrugged. "I just wanted some time more or less alone", she said. "I didn't have much of that at camp. So I mostly just stayed home."

"Ok", said Marluxia. He sighed. "Hey, I heard there's a new girl in town."

Cari frowned and raised her eyebrow. This could have something to do with last night. "Really", she asked. "That's interesting. Do you know anything about her? What she looks like or a name?"

Marluxia shook his head. "No, sorry", he said. "I just heard she was new."

Cari sighed and smiled again. "Ok", she said. "No problem. We'll probably meet her later. Because something's bound to happen. Knowing how all the crazy shit's attracted to us." She turned and walked towards the cafeteria. "Now let's go. I bet everyone's waiting for us."

"Yeah, probably", Marluxia said, following Cari.

Cari and Marluxia made their way to the cafeteria. It was rather crowded right now. Though, she wasn't surprised. It was always that way. Even when it wasn't the first day of school. All the same, though, it tended to make things difficult when looking for someone—or even a group of people. So it took a couple of minutes to look around and find their other friends, and Zexion and Xigbar, all sitting around their usual table. Of course, someone was missing.

"Hey guys", said Cari. Everyone looked over at her. "Where's Demyx?" For that matter, where was Yuki?

They all shrugged. "Don't know", the spiky-haired blond boy said. "We were hoping you'd tell us when you got here. Yuki called to say she'd be late and had told Demyx to come on ahead."

Cari shrugged. "Hope he gets here soon, then", she said. "I haven't seen him in over two months."

"Yeah, just like you haven't seen most of us in over two months", said the black-haired girl.

Cari sighed. "Hey, that's what I get for letting myself get caught sneaking out, Xion", she said. "And after getting back from camp, I didn't want to see everyone all at once."

Xion laughed. "Well, I guess I don't blame you, then", she said. "It sounded like you became quite popular."

Cari frowned. "Yeah, well, I don't like being the center of attention", she said. "It makes me uncomfortable."

"Because you're a little shy", Zexion said, having snuck up behind Cari and hugged her.

Cari blushed and looked up at Zexion. She smiled sweetly. "And a little too easily embarrassed", she laughed. Zexion leaned down kissed her, making her blush even more. "Zexy, we're in public. Everyone saw that."

Zexion smirked. "Why do you think I did it", he said. "You're mine. I want people to know that."

The magenta-haired girl giggled. "Aw, now isn't that just adorable", she gushed.

"K-Kairi", Cari whined, blushing even more.

Kairi laughed. "Well, it is cute", she said. "You two are just so right for each other."

"I'm glad you two are finally together", said Marluxia. "You wouldn't believe how much Cari kept talking about you, Zexion."

Zexion blushed a little and looked back down at Cari. "How much do you talk about me when I'm not around", he asked.

Cari pouted. "Marluxia, that was so not called for", she said. "You're so going to get it one of these days." She looked back up at Zexion and smiled sheepishly. "A lot. Hey, I've liked you since I was in the fifth grade."

Xigbar watched as everyone continued to tease Cari and Zexion. He wanted to join in, himself. But he was watching Cari's expressions and gestures. She seemed different today. She was still herself, but she acted a bit different than before. The signs were few and very subtle, but they were still there. She had only seemed a bit surprised when Zexion hugged her. And her expressions were slightly different from normal. She definitely seemed more confident.

And she also had a surreal aura. Something not human. She was different. She had definitely changed since the day they spent with their friends at the beach. She'd definitely become paler. You could just tell when she blushed. There was an even more distinguishable difference in her skin tone. You would think that going to a summer camp, she'd be a bit more tanned. And she looked even more graceful and beautiful. Something like a model.

There was only one explanation he could think of. She must have been turned into a vampire. While it seemed absurd, it made sense, too. And so that camp must not have been wholly punishment for her trying to sneak out for a midnight walk.

In fact, it was highly doubtful that she did get caught trying to sneak out. It wasn't like her to let that happen. She was undeniably sneaky. And a pretty decent liar as well. Not to mention it would explain the article in the paper the very next day. As well as how they hadn't even solved the case yet. No one was missing because the girl who was attacked was standing right before them all getting embarrassed.

Cari looked at Xigbar. He wasn't saying anything at all. And that was quite unusual for him. He always had something to say, regardless of what might be going on. But he was just watching them this time. No—he was just watching her. It was like she was some sort of lab specimen. And it made her slightly uneasy.

And in truth, he now seemed different. Not different like her, but still, different—like he wasn't purely human. He definitely didn't smell it. He was different from everyone else in the group. And that he was watching her must have meant that he knew she'd changed.

The moment she realized why he was watching her, she nearly showed her shock. She recognized that scent. She'd learned about it at camp and even met one briefly for a lesson. It was the scent of a Hunter.

This was going to make things interesting, if not outright disastrous. One of her friends was a Hunter. And that meant he was sure to keep a close watch on her. And would potentially making her life more complicated than it already was. After all, he was Zexion's best friend. There was no telling what would happen now.

"Hey, Cari", said Xion. "Are you ok?

Cari looked at Xion and blinked as innocently as she could. "Oh, sorry", she said. "I kind of spaced out for a minute. Sorry." She frowned and quickly glanced down into the hall.

"Is something wrong", asked Zexion.

Cari looked back up at Zexion and blushed. "I just thought I saw something", she said. She wiggled out of Zexion's arms. "But it was nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, nature's calling and I have to go."

She hurried out of the cafeteria and down the hall where the bathrooms were before anyone could stop her. This was important. She didn't really have to go to the bathroom for any normal purposes, but she needed to see something. She had smelled blood and felt she needed to know what happened. Something just felt completely wrong, like some kind of force was at work.

Quickly, she glanced around, looking for any signs of something happening. She slowed down when she came to the spot where the smell of blood was the strongest. Unfortunately, it also just so happened to be the boy's bathroom. Well, she had mentioned going to the bathroom, regardless of it having been a lie at the time.

Cari stopped and stared at the door nervously. She had never once been in there. And she never thought she'd have to. At least there was no one around to see it right now. There was no telling what would happen in the bathroom, itself. Or after she got out, for that matter.

Taking a nervous gulp, she pushed the door open a crack. She didn't want to end up seeing some random guy cleaning up. But once she was sure no one was doing anything, she went in to investigate. But looking around, she saw, of all the people it could have been, Demyx leaning up against a wall. He was clutching his neck—the source of the blood—and looked like he was in a lot of pain. His eyelids were closed tightly, tears streaming down his face, and he was gasping. That wasn't a good sign.

Cari froze. The smell was quite tempting, but he was also hurt. And after carefully analyzing the situation, she knew he couldn't lose any more blood. He wasn't in as bad a shape she'd been in. Her neck had been torn up horribly and was bleeding more. It had been a wonder she was still holding out. But he was still in pretty bad shape, none the less.

She slowly walked over to him and knelt down. She was afraid to say something, but she knew she couldn't let things go like this. Or else she didn't know what would happen. "Demyx, what happened", she asked softly. She already knew, but had to ask anyway.

Demyx slowly opened his eyes to find Cari kneeling right in front of him. She looked very worried. He blinked and blushed when he realized he was still in the bathroom. "C-Cari", he asked, surprised. "What are you doing in here?"

Cari glanced away for a very brief second. "It's because I got worried about you not being in the cafeteria with everyone else", she lied. "Now what happened here?"

She reached over and gently took Demyx's hand from his neck and frowned. It was covered in blood. And his neck was still bleeding. She let go and he put his hand back on his neck to cover the wound. Someone had indeed bitten him. But had been foolish enough not to heal him. Either that, or it may not have been their strong suit, and were hoping someone else would come and take care of him. Reckless, but nothing could be done now.

Demyx winced at the pain when his hand touched his neck again. "Something bit me", he said.

"I can see that now", said Cari. Her expression became serious. "Tell me exactly what happened."

"I was just going to the bathroom", said Demyx. "And when I was washing my hands. And then something just grabbed me and bit into my neck. It went too fast and I really couldn't tell what was happening. The next thing I knew, the thing was gone and I stumbled back and fell against this wall."

Cari's expression fell. She was going to have to help him, she knew that. She wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't. But she didn't want to completely blow the secret that vampires, among other things, existed. She couldn't take him out of the bathroom as he was. She'd have to heal him herself. She would have to make sure no one else found out, hopefully including Xigbar.

"Cari, that was scary", said Demyx. "That was the scariest thing in my entire life. Will you… help me to the nurse's office?"

Cari sadly shook her head. "I can't", she said. Demyx opened his mouth to protest, but Cari silenced him. "Not like you are right now." She put her hand over his that he held over his neck. "If you'll believe me, I'll tell you why."

Demyx was shaken to his core. He had no clue what was going on. But he knew he could always trust Cari. He had to right now, and there was no reason why he shouldn't. "Y-yes", he said. "Please, tell me."

Cari drew in a deep breath. "Demyx, you were attacked by a vampire", she said. "You will not die, I promise. I won't let you. But you can't leave the bathroom with that wound on your neck. And most certainly not with all that blood."

Demyx stared at her blankly. He was almost too shocked for words. Cari just told him vampires existed, and so solemnly, if sadly, to boot. He almost couldn't believe it—but who would under normal circumstances? Granted that these weren't normal circumstances, so was there any other explanation? There were holes in his neck and he was bleeding. And he quickly realized why Cari wouldn't take him to the school nurse. People didn't think vampires were real.

"What… are you going to do", he asked. "And how do you know… if vampires really exist?"

Cari froze for a split second, and quickly glanced away and back at Demyx again. "First your neck needs to be healed", she said. She paused. "And… I know because I… Demyx, I am one." She watched as his eyes grew wider in alarm, and then relaxed a bit. He still looked worried, but he was calmer. "I'll explain later, I promise. But only if you swear not to tell a soul."

Demyx nodded slowly. It was quite a bit to take in, but he knew she was telling the truth. "I won't tell", he said. "And that's a promise. How do you intend to heal my neck, then?"

Cari moved his hand and placed her own over the wound. "Basic healing magic", she said. "That's the extent of actual magic we can use."

She focused on sealing the wound, and when she moved her hand, his neck was fine. It took some willpower, but she managed not too lick the bit of blood that was on her hand. It would probably send him running if she had. And that was the absolute last thing she needed. The only thing that would cause was a war in the end.

Demyx's eyes widened again and he gasped as he felt his neck. The wound was completely gone, though it still hurt. "Wow", he said.

Cari sighed. "You'll be lightheaded still, so don't strain yourself too much", she said. "Now we need to get the blood cleaned up. There's quite a bit on your shirt. It's not completely dry yet, so getting it out shouldn't be too difficult. Take it off and clean up yourself."

Demyx blushed. "T-take my shirt off", he stuttered.

Cari frowned. "How else do you expect to get it clean", she asked. "Now do it before the blood does completely dry."

Demyx did as he was told and took his shirt off and handed it to Cari. "Here", he said, blushing again.

Cari took the shirt and stood up, also blushing a bit. She offered him her clean hand and helped him up. "Also going to have to take care of the blood on the floor", she said. She helped Demyx steady himself and they each went over to one sink.

Cari sighed impatiently. This was going to be a long day. She just prayed no one would come in while they were still cleaning up. She looked at the clock on the wall. Luckily, they still had about ten minutes until the bell rang. That should be plenty of time to get the blood cleaned up. At least, if nothing else happened during that time.

"So… how are we going to get my shirt dry", Demyx asked, barely even glancing at Cari. He had to admit to himself—he was more frightened of her now that he knew she was a vampire.

"You'll see when I do it", said Cari. "I swear, when I find who did this, they are so going to regret—"

"Well, well, well, what do we have here", someone cockily said from right by the door.

Cari and Demyx froze. She cursed her luck under her breath. It seemed to like running on the bad side of many situations. Now she had a Hunter to deal with. And she didn't even know if he was going to be of any help with the whole situation. Either way, this wasn't good. Xigbar was likely to cause some delay and possibly even make them late for homeroom.

"I was wondering what you were doing, Cari", said Xigbar. "Turns out you came here. I wonder… What are you up to? I know it can't be anything normal. Otherwise Demyx, here, wouldn't have blood on his neck."

"What's… going on", Demyx asked.

Cari put the shirt back down in the sink and started scrubbing again. "Xigbar, I'm pretty sure you were listening to the last thing I said", she said. "So I'd appreciate it if you didn't make any assumptions. And Demyx…just finish cleaning up."

"Ok", Demyx said, going back to cleaning the blood away. He wasn't about to argue right now. Because he didn't know what might happen if he did.

Xigbar stared at Cari blankly, then smirked. "I just want to know what happened", he said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you can guess", said Cari. "Seeing as how you're a Hunter and all. Demyx was attacked by a vampire. I don't know who it was, but I can assure you, I'm going to find out. So don't think for a damn second that it was me. I'm the one who healed him."

"So you noticed", said Xigbar. He paused to watch her as she worked on cleaning up the shirt. She looked tense. "Are you afraid?"

"A bit, yes", Cari admitted. Of course she was. He was a Hunter—and not all of them had the same views. This was especially hard considering what kind of relationship they had. She looked up at him, so that he could see her scowl. "But since you haven't killed me yet, I feel fairly certain you're one of the more understanding Hunters. Now, if you don't mind, I want to finish cleaning Demyx's shirt. If you'd like to make yourself useful, then clean up the mess on the floor. We can't have anyone finding out what happened, can we?" She didn't mean to sound bossy, but she wanted to get the bathroom cleaned up while no one else was there.

"You know, you never cease to amaze me", Xigbar said, grabbing some paper towels and wetting some of them. He got down and started to clean up the blood on the floor. He might as well help now that he was there—it was a part of the job description. "You're going to have to tell me what really happened later. You know that right?"

Cari shrugged and pulled the shirt back out of the sink and looked at it. She smiled. "Yeah, I pretty much figured", she said. "And the shirt's clean." She looked over at Demyx, who had finished cleaning his neck and was now going to grab some paper towels himself. She frowned. "Demyx, don't bother wasting the paper towels. I'll take care of it."

Demyx looked back at Cari. "What do you mean", he asked. "How are you going to dry everything?"

Cari sighed and smiled. She looked at Xigbar, who was now getting up. "Floor clean", she asked.

Xigbar sighed. "Yeah", he said. "And for the record, I didn't clean it because you told me to. I cleaned it because it's part of the job."

"Yeah, ok", said Cari.

Demyx frowned. "You both need to explain what's really going on to me", he said. "Because I'm really confused."

Cari rolled her eyes. "As will be Yuki", she said. She sighed. "And before you even say anything, Demyx, yes, she knows. I'll explain later." She smirked. "At least It's kind of warm and stuffy in here. Makes things much better. You'll see what I mean in a second. You might feel a chill, though."

She tossed the shirt in the air and created a breeze in the bathroom. Wrapping it particularly around Demyx, who gasped in awe, and his shirt, she dried the water away. She found that creating a light wind really helped drying off. It had been particularly useful when she ended up soaked and nowhere near a towel.

Demyx gasped again as he caught his dry shirt and put it back on. It was as dry as when he'd left his house. "How'd you do that", he asked.

Xigbar smirked. "Control of the air, if my guess is right", he asked. "That's a rarity."

Cari blushed a little. "Yeah", she said. She looked at Demyx, who's expression was amazed. "Each vampire has a special ability. I have control over one of the four classical elements, air."

Demyx whistled. "That's cool", he said.

"And it also shows a lot of potential", said Xigbar. He looked up at the clock. "We'd better scoot if we don't want to be late."

Cari looked up at the clock as well. "Oh, yeah. Definitely", she said, blushing a bit. "If I get caught in here, I'll be in big trouble."

To Be Continued


	9. Chapter 9-Little Complications

**Note: Well, here's the next chapter. It's possibly a little awkward, but it wasn't something I could really change. Also, none of the characters get particularly scary as of yet, but a few of those characters are already here. Ironically, Larxene never seems to have many if any truly frightening moments past intimidating-read as worrying when it involves Cari-others, even when she gets pissy. Also, there is one character who is terrifying beyond belief more than anyone else in this. _It is not Cari, as scary as she ends up as._  
**

**Also, again I ask that someone, at least one person, send me a review that actually has to do with the story. I'd really like to know what you think so far, even though it might be a little slow at the moment. Otherwise, all I have to say is happy reading!**

Chapter 9: Little Complications

Cari sighed as she sat down at one of the desks in the front of the classroom by Axel and Zexion. She'd barely made it to homeroom, as the late bell rang.

She was never going to live going into the boy's bathroom down. She hadn't been caught, but it was embarrassing. Even telling herself she had no other option, it still made her uncomfortable. Thankfully, the bathrooms didn't have cameras in them. It was a little odd, but convenient all the same. There was a good chance it was because of privacy issues, but she wondered briefly if it wasn't also because someone had pulled strings behind the scenes.

"Are you ok", asked Zexion.

Cari looked at Zexion. "Yeah, I'm fine", she said. She smiled. "Why would you think I'm not?"

"It's not like you to almost be late", said Zexion. "Did something happen?"

Cari blushed. "My trip took a little longer than expected", she said. "I had to take care of something."

Axel looked at her with a slightly concerned expression. Something was wrong—he could feel it. "As long as you're ok", he said.

Cari looked over at him. "Yeah, I'm ok", she said. "Don't worry, you guys."

She looked at the clock above the chalkboard and watched it tick for a few minutes. It was now 7:45. And yet there was no sign of the teacher. While it was one thing for a student to be late, it was completely different for the teacher to be late. The class was usually a bit chaotic when that happened. Then again, it was chaotic whenever the teacher wasn't there in the first place. Though, thankfully, not nearly as chaotic as from camp.

Cari picked up one of the books she brought with her. Which presently happened to be The Serpent's Shadow, by Mercedes Lackey. She opened to where she'd left off, and practically placed it in front her face and began reading again. It could be a while before the teacher got there, and she didn't want to be bored until homeroom actually started..

Hearing a slight crash from the hallway, Cari glanced up from her book. Someone seemed to have been knocked over, dropping all their books. She would know that noise anywhere. Someone was late. Or rather, a few people were late. She could hear talking, with someone sounding like they were a little more than irritated.

She glanced back down at her book. It didn't really matter to her. Just as long as no one was bleeding again, it wouldn't become her problem. She'd already smelled enough blood for one morning. And she wasn't pleased with the idea of smelling more. Restraint still didn't always come easy, and it would probably be a while before it did.

Quickly, the classroom door swung open and closed again. She heard two people coming in, so she assumed it was the teacher and a late student. The class quieted down a bit, so she assumed the teacher was Mr. Lee, someone who most students were careful around. He was known to be one of the most hardnosed teachers, and wouldn't hesitate to assign detention. She'd sincerely hoped she wouldn't have to see him so soon, but nothing could be done.

He was talking with the apparent student, and Cari's face paled. If she hadn't been careful, she would have almost dropped her book. She recognized the other voice. It wasn't one she'd forget easily. She'd spent practically the entire summer with the girl the voice belonged to.

She glanced up yet again. And sure enough, she saw the one person who freaked her out the most—Larxene. Cari's forehead fell onto her desk with soft thud. She should have just known this was going to happen. This really was going to be a long day. She felt as if getting out of the school without any grey hears would be something of a miracle at this point. Not only did she have to deal with just keeping her secret, but now also her most temperamental friend.

Sighing, Cari put her book down and looked back up. Larxene was now right in front of her, smiling. Cari flinched slightly. Larxene smiling sweetly was possibly one of the scariest things she could think of. Because it usually meant she was thinking of a way to humiliate some poor soul. That, or someone was in for a nasty surprise otherwise. Cari really didn't like that.

"Morning, Cari", said Larxene.

Cari felt completely doomed, but still smiled. Would she never get a break? "Hi, Larxene", she said uneasily. She could feel all eyes on her. "What's up?"

"You ok", asked Larxene. "You didn't hurt your head, did you?"

Cari waved her hands in front of herself slightly. "No, no, I'm fine", she said. "I just didn't expect to see you. Why don't you find somewhere to sit, now?"

"Ok", said Larxene. She walked over in front of Axel and glared at him. Yeah, Cari was screwed now.

Axel looked like he'd just been caught in someone's headlights. "Y-yes", he said, nervously.

"Move, porcupine", said Larxene. "I'm sitting here now."

Cari's nearly head fell onto her desk again. She looked at Larxene and Axel, who was practically frozen, and scowled. "Stop. Don't make Axel move. Just take the next desk over."

Larxene looked back at Cari and smiled apologetically. "Ok", she said. "Sorry." She went over to the desk by the window and sat down, though she was a little unhappy. Cari had become her best friend.

Cari sighed. It wasn't going to be a long day anymore. It was going to be a long year, if not more than that. Larxene would make things very difficult on her, considering she was almost uncontrollable.

Zexion blinked in confusion. "You know her", he asked quietly.

"Uh, yeah", said Cari. "My roommate from camp, Larxene."

Axel's face paled and looked at Cari. "She is kind of scary", he said.

"You have no idea", Cari mumbled.

* * *

Sighing, Cari grabbed her lunch and closed her locker. Today was really stressful. And it was only half over. Why did all the crazy things have to be attracted to her? It was driving her insane. There was only a limit to what she could take, and she was starting to think she was reaching that limit. The next thing they knew, she would have a nice padded room and a fun new jacket.

With Larxene around, nothing was going to be simple. As it was, Cari's friends were scared of her. While they had every reason to be, though they didn't even know it save for Xigbar, it was ridiculous. Life was never going to be semi-normal again. She'd quickly cast off any hopes of normalcy when she became a vampire, yeah. But she'd hoped things wouldn't turn on it's head so quickly.

Cari turned around to see a brown-haired boy now standing cockily in front of her. He was wearing a sport's jersey, so she assumed he was one of the jocks. He smelled like Ax deodorant. It wasn't that appealing. It was incredibly strong. And it wasn't because of her heightened sense of smell, either. How did girls even stand to be around it—or anyone, for that matter?

"Hey, cutie", he said smoothly. "I never noticed how pretty you were before now."

Cari frowned even more and raised an eyebrow. Oh, such a playboy wannabe. He'd have to learn new tricks if he wanted to pick up girls. "Are you talking to me", she asked.

"It's a large school, but I'm looking at you, aren't I", said the boy. He smirked. "Of course I'm talking to you."

"What do you want", Cari asked, slightly annoyed. She didn't like how he'd used such a lame pick-up line on her.

"I wanted to ask you to join me and my friends at lunch", he said. "I'm Eric."

"Yeah, well I've got my own friends to sit with", said Cari. She turned to leave with the crowd of people headed to lunch, but stopped. She turned her head back slightly, to see him out of the corner of her eye. She smirked. "By the way. If you just noticed me, after at least two years, for being pretty, you're not worth my time." She walked away, leaving Eric speechless. That would teach him to rethink his methods.

Cari sighed inwardly. She'd expected that would happen. Why wouldn't it? She was different now. Everyone had kept watching her all day. While she didn't acknowledge it or make it known, she knew they had. And she figured this would continue for the next several days. It would be a while before people stopped gawking at her.

When she got down to the cafeteria, she smiled brightly as she saw Zexion and Yuki waiting for her. She stopped when she stood right beside Zexion.

"Hey, were you waiting for me", she asked.

"Yeah, we were", said Yuki.

Cari pouted. "You didn't have to", she said.

"We wanted to", said Zexion.

Cari blushed. "Oh, ok", she said. She looked at Yuki. "I heard you were running late this morning."

Yuki gave an awkward smile. "Yeah", she said with a sigh. "Not fun. I was scrambling around like a chicken with it's head chopped off."

Cari gave a small chuckle. "Jeez, your first day of high school, and you're almost late", she said. "Smooth."

Yuki pouted now. "Oh, come on", she said. "Like that's never happened to you before."

"Whatever", Cari said, laughing. She began walking over their normal table. "Come on."

Zexion and Yuki followed Cari and sat down, with her between them.

Axel looked around and sighed in relief. "She's not here yet", he said. "Thank goodness."

"Who's not here yet, Axy", asked Yuki.

"Larxene", said Axel.

Yuki's face paled. "You mean Cari's roommate from camp, Larxene", she asked.

Cari sighed. "Yup", she said. "That would be the one. She scares Axel."

"What happened", the spiky-haired blond asked.

"We have homeroom together", Cari said, opening her lunch bag. "She came late, and Axel and Zexy were sitting beside me. She was going to make Axel move. I had simply told her to sit down. I had no clue she'd do that. Roxas, just be glad you weren't there."

Roxas blinked in surprise. "Ok, then", he said carefully.

"Hello", someone sang happily from behind Cari.

Cari slowly turned around and her face paled. "Hi, Larxene", she said nervously. "What's up?"

"So this is where you sit", said Larxene. She looked around at everyone and frowned. "Someone's moving so I can sit." She looked at Yuki. "You. Move."

Yuki frowned. "Excuse you", she retorted. "I'm not moving."

Larxene's smile soured. "Well, don't you have a backbone", she sneered. "I told you to move. Do it."

"Just try and make me", said Yuki.

Cari scowled deeply—Yuki's temper was beginning to rise. "Larxene", she growled. "Don't start this crap again."

Larxene's face paled a bit. "Sorry", she said. "Would someone please move so I can sit down?"

Everyone looked at Cari and stared. She sighed, half tempted to hit her head on the table. "Did I not say earlier this morning that I don't like being at the center of attention", she asked. She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, don't stare like that."

"She can sit by me", said Xigbar. He pulled up another chair from a nearby table.

Larxene raised an eyebrow, as she could tell he was a Hunter.

Xigbar chuckled. He was mostly doing this to mess with her, though he also wanted to keep an eye on her, too. "Don't worry", he said. "I don't bite."

Larxene sighed and went over to sit by Xigbar. No one else was offering a place, so she had to concede. "Sorry I'm late", she said. "I had to deal with some idiot who was trying to flirt with me. He was being such a pest."

"Please tell me you didn't hurt him", Cari groaned. If she did, there was going to be a major problem. Larxene was still a loose cannon and didn't often do what most people said. She even managed to slip past Cari's instructions once in a while—she did as she said, but sometimes managed to do as she wanted by working around what had been said.

"No, I don't think I did", said Larxene. "I just told him to bug off."

Cari raised an eyebrow. "Really", she asked. It was highly doubtful Larxene just 'told' someone to do something. At least not without some sort of threat to go with it.

"Ok, I may have made a little threat", said Larxene. "But he was being persistent. I had to do something to make the twerp go away."

Cari sighed and rolled her eyes. "He didn't run off crying, did he", she asked.

"No", said Larxene.

"Well that's a relief", said Cari. She gave Larxene a look that said they'd talk later.

"Ok, moving on", Demyx said nervously, who was sitting by Axel and Marluxia. "Uh… How's classes going so far?"

Yuki looked at Demyx. She frowned. "Is that Mr. Lee out to get all the students or something", she asked. She gave a small groan. "I swear, he's so strict. And a ton of homework on the first day?! Ugh! I mean, it's this packet about six pages long! Isn't that kind of stupid?! Math isn't my strong point!"

"Don't feel bad, Yuki", said Xigbar. "All of us have complained about it, too."

"I think it's a little dumb, too", said Cari. "But I did it anyway. I didn't want to get into trouble. I'll help you out with it." She looked over at Larxene. "And someone has already gotten on his bad side."

Larxene blushed. "Hey, someone pissed me off", she said.

"Yeah, and now he's keeping an eye on me, too", said Cari. "Because everyone knows how you've been following me around nearly all morning." She sighed.

"Yeah, don't you two have the same schedules", asked Axel.

"Yup, pretty much", Cari sighed.

"Yeah, that must suck", Axel said, rolling his eyes.

* * *

Cari stepped inside her house and sighed. It was a long day, and she still had the evening to get through. She walked into the living room and tossed her backpack onto the couch. Then she made her way to the door to the basement and sighed. She opened the door and went down. The basement also served as Vexen's home lab, and he was often there doing something.

She heard a crash and hurried to see what happened. Vexen was in the back and had dropped one of the test tubes. She saw him kneel down and carelessly try to pick up one of the larger pieces. He winced as he cut his finger.

Cari rushed over to help him. She took his hand and looked at it. It wasn't very big, and it wasn't bleeding that badly. But she could still smell it. And it was tempting. She didn't like being tempted like that, particularly after having dealt with Demyx already.

"Damn it, Dad, you know you shouldn't pick up broken glass with your bare hands", Cari growled. She healed the cut and looked up at Vexen's face. "You know that. What the hell were you thinking?! Or weren't you thinking?!"

Vexen sighed. "I was thinking you might need some blood", he said.

Cari blushed a bit and rolled her eyes. "Dad, I'm fine", she said. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I just worry about you", said Vexen. He watched as Cari pulled out the broom and dustpan and swept up the broken glass. He stood back up.

Cari sighed and dumped the glass in the trash. "Dad, I just told you, I'm fine", she said. She put the broom and dustpan back.

Vexen pulled Cari into a hug. "Sometimes I wonder about that", he said. "I worry that you're not telling me everything. I worry that something is bothering you, but you won't tell me what it is. Ever since Molly died, you've become somewhat distant."

Cari frowned sadly. Remembering her mom always seemed to make her nostalgic. If not outright sad. "Don't worry about me", she said. She put on a fake smile as Vexen pulled away from her. "Remember what Mom would say about it? She'd say, 'People who worry too much never have a lot of fun in their life'."

"I just want you to talk to me if something's wrong", said Vexen. "You make me worry so much more than I need to. Just like Molly. You're-"

"The spitting image of her", Cari said, rolling her eyes. "I know." Vexen rolled his eyes now, and she laughed. "By the way, I came down to tell you something. Some of my friends are coming over after dinner."

"And this was decided when", asked Vexen. "Why didn't you ask me first?"

Cari sighed and gave Vexen a serious look. "They need to come over. Some things happened unexpectedly this morning."

Vexen raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Didn't I tell you to be careful", he asked.

Cari scoffed. "I didn't do anything except what I had to", she said. "It's not my fault there's more than two vampires at the school. My roommate from camp came here. Demyx had an unfortunate accident this morning. He's alright, and Larxene isn't to blame, but it is a problem."

"Who all is coming over, then", asked Vexen. "It's not everyone, is it?"

"Not everyone, no", said Cari. "Only Xigbar, Larxene, Yuki, and Demyx that I know of. Though, there might be one more person Xigbar is bringing."

Vexen sighed. "Fine", he said. "Just make sure things don't get out of hand here. I know how your friends are." Though Xigbar was certainly a new addition, he probably wouldn't be too much different.

Cari rolled her eyes. "Of course", she said.

To Be Continued


	10. Chapter 10-Mysteries

**Note: Ok, more talky-talky here than much else. Exposition chapter, I guess, along with the importance of what they're going to do. Well, anyway, here's your update of the week.**

**Happy reading, and please review.**

Chapter 10: Mysteries

Cari sat on the couch and sighed, more than a little irritated at the moment. Her arms were crossed, and she was waiting to hear the footsteps of her friends on the deck outside. It was now 8:30. Plenty enough time had passed for everyone to be finished eating. Any later, and they'd have to sneak out of their houses. At least Yuki and Demyx, anyway.

She heard someone knocking on the door, but it wasn't anyone who she knew was coming over. She got up and went over to open the door. And was surprised to see Roxas on the other side.

"Roxas", she asked. "What are you doing here?"

Roxas smiled. "I thought I'd come visit", he said. "Is that a problem?"

"Well, no", said Cari. She let him in. She glanced over quickly to see Vexen in the kitchen, then glanced back at Roxas. "So what's up?"

Roxas followed Cari into the living room and they sat down. "I wanted to make sure you were ok", he said honestly. There was really no reason to lie, after all.

Cari blinked in surprise. "What makes you think I'm not", she asked.

"Well," Roxas took a deep breath, "you seemed to be on edge today. I was worried that something was wrong."

Cari gave Roxas a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine", she said. "Larxene just had me a little nervous. But I'm fine."

"You sure", asked Roxas. "You seem different somehow. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but you've changed."

Cari forced a small laugh. "Nah, I haven't changed", she said. "I'm still the same crazy girl I've always been. Nothing's changed."

Roxas hesitated. Cari seemed to be hiding something, but he couldn't be sure. Sora had told him she seemed different after she got back from camp. "Mm, ok", he said. "But if something's wrong, you know you can tell me or any of the others. We're your friends. Don't keep everything to yourself. It doesn't help any."

"Yeah, thanks", said Cari. "But I'm fine, really." She smirked. "So how'd it go when Sora got back with your skateboard? I never got the chance to ask you."

"By the time he got back, he was pretty scratched up", said Roxas.

Cari winced slightly. "I can imagine", she said. "Maybe you should give up before he breaks anything."

"Yeah, maybe I should", said Roxas. "But just after I tell him I'm going to stop trying to help him, he'll try on his own and hurt himself even worse than if I were with him."

"Good point", said Cari. She smiled sweetly. She needed him to leave now. "Hey, Roxas, you should probably leave now. It's getting a bit late, and Sora could have gotten scratched up on that skateboard of yours again."

Roxas blinked. "Yeah, you're right", he said. He stood up. "I should make sure he hasn't gotten hurt."

Cari stood up and walked with Roxas to the door. "Bye", she said as he walked out and home.

Cari sighed and went back into the living room and sat back down. If they didn't get here soon, she was going to be quite upset. Perhaps they had trouble getting out of their houses. Or perhaps everyone was already together and Xigbar was trying to get the other person.

She heard knocking again. However, this time coming from the back door. She got up and hurried through the dining room and opened the door. Standing there was everyone. Yuki, who looked somewhat annoyed, though it was really no surprise. Demyx, who seemed almost totally clueless if it weren't for the fact that he knew why he was there. Larxene, who was smiling, which still had Cari creeped out. Xigbar, who had his famous cocky smirk plastered on his face. And then, to Cari's surprise, Xion. Did she know what was going on? How, though?

"Uh, hey guys", Cari said, letting them all in.

Larxene pounced Cari with a hug. "Hi", she said cheerily.

Cari rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ok, you can get off me now, Larxene", she said. As it was, it really wasn't the time to be doing that.

"Ok, ok", Larxene said, letting go. "Well, we're all here."

"Yes, I can see that", said Cari. She crossed her arms and looked at Xigbar. "And I assume, as she's here, you were talking about Xion earlier?"

Xigbar rested a hand on Xion's head. "Yeah", he said. "Poppet, here, is a sorceress."

"Ok, hand off now", Xion said, rolling her eyes. "Or I might turn it into something else."

Xigbar removed his hand, really not wishing to test her. He didn't want to explain to his dad just why his hand was something it shouldn't be. And his cousin would never let him live it down. "Ok", he said.

Cari laughed for a minute before sobering up again. "Let's go into the kitchen", she said. "We'll talk in there." She turned around and headed back through the living room and into the kitchen, the others following without question.

Vexen looked up from his book and sighed. He put his book mark in and closed it, setting it down. "I see everyone is here, now", he said, an underlying tone of annoyance in his voice.

Yuki sighed. "Yes, Vexen, we are," she said. The lack of her usual nickname signified that she was being deadly serious.

Cari went over and leaned against the refrigerator. She motioned for everyone to sit and crossed her arms.

"Alright," she said, "let's get this over with."

Xion looked at Cari and raised an eyebrow. While her and Yuki's emotions were often times corresponding with each other, with the situation as it was, she found it unusual. "Xigbar said something was going on and I was needed." She might as well have begun this. After all, someone had to.

Everyone's attention turned to Cari, all expressions now unwaveringly serious. Even Demyx was now completely sullen. "Yes, of course", she said. "Otherwise the air wouldn't be so damn tense."

Xion glanced at Xigbar. "Unfortunately, I wasn't told anything." She looked back at Cari. "Nothing but that you've been a vampire since after we all went to the beach. Tell me what I don't know. How did you end up this way?"

"Simply put," said Cari, "I recklessly chose to sneak out into the forest for a walk. I understand how stupid that was now. I nearly died, having been attacked by a vampire."

Demyx flinched slightly. "Then what happened", he asked nervously. The tension was unnerving him a lot.

"I was getting to that", said Cari. "Afterwards, someone seemed to hear my screaming, whoever reported it. My hope there is that it will simply become an urban legend of some kind." She grimaced for a second. "But anyway, after a while, another vampire named Vincent came and gave me a choice. Die a human, or become a vampire and live. I agreed to become a vampire because I wanted to live. I'm not sure exactly how I managed to do it, but I decided quickly without much thought.

"After changing, the next thing I knew, I woke up in bed. Not a single mark on my skin, and no blood but what was on my clothes." Cari paused. "So anyway, I'm in my bed, hearing talking in the kitchen, realizing that Dad obviously now knew what happened. It seems he and Vincent are friends." She glanced at Vexen. "Am I right?"

"Yes, we are friends", said Vexen.

"Who found out next", asked Demyx.

"Axel", said Yuki. "Right?"

Cari nodded. "That would be correct", she said. "As just becoming a vampire, I needed to have blood. And as most of us already know," she looked at Larxene, Xigbar, Vexen, and Xion, "a vampire can have either human or animal blood."

"Is that all a vampire can drink", asked Demyx.

"Hmm, no", said Cari, looking over at Demyx. "Some vampires will drink another vampire's blood. Though it does next to nothing for us. I guess you could say it has no nutritional value? Vampires will often simply drink another vampire's blood as a way of showing that they share a bond. Usually, it's a bond of love, close friendship, or family."

Demyx mouthed an 'oh'.

"As I was saying before, though", said Cari. " A vampire can choose to drink either animal, or human blood for nutritional purposes. Animal blood, however, isn't as good. It doesn't always have the same nutrients we need, and we have to drink it more often than human blood." She mentally sighed. "So, knowing this, I chose to have a human's blood. Perhaps I should have thought it through a little longer, because of what happened next."

Xigbar raised an eyebrow. "Really", he asked, figuring fully what Cari was probably going to say next. "Why do you believe you should have thought it out better?"

Cari sighed in exasperation. "Because," she said, "the one I ended up biting was Axel."

Demyx gasped and he just stared Cari for a long, silent moment. "Why", he asked, quite shocked.

Cari glanced at Demyx, and sighed again. "Because his curiosity got the better of him and put him in that position", she said. "Now believe me, I didn't want to do it. But with Vincent with me, I didn't have much choice. He noticed I was getting 'cold feet' and told me if I didn't, something else might very soon. That got me moving, and so, I did what I needed to do."

"But he's not here", said Demyx. "If—"

"I was getting there", said Cari. "He's not here because that memory is locked away. It was agreed that it might be best that way. At first, I wanted him to know because of the circumstances. But I realized that it's very dangerous to know sometimes."

"Wait, Yuki knows", said Demyx.

"Only because I was permitted one human to talk to who wouldn't be my dad", said Cari. She glanced at the blond man. "No offense."

"None taken", said Vexen. Even he understood that he wasn't always good for comfort.

"Would you care to explain a bit more", asked Yuki. She glanced at Demyx. "Some of us don't know as much as others here."

"Sorry", said Cari. "For those of you who don't already know," she looked at Demyx, "Larxene is another vampire. My roommate from camp. CampVampire." She rolled her eyes. "Not a very subtle name, but we'll ignore that bit. We all now know Xion is a sorceress. She can cast spells and stuff like that. Do much more than the basic magic a vampire, Hunter, or werewolf can do—the healing bit. And no, I don't know any werewolves yet. And then Xigbar, a Hunter. I'm not referring to the hunters that kill wild animals for food or anything. I'm talking about the Hunters that protect humans from bad vampires, sorcerers, and werewolves."

Demyx nodded. That explained why everyone was here at the moment. "That's cool, I guess."

Cari gave a weak smile. "If nothing else, it's at least interesting. Now as I was saying, the next few days, I was just getting ready to go to camp. My time spent at camp, and how Larxene and I are actually friends, is another story in and of itself. Of course, once I got back, a certain someone conveniently showed up outside my window. The next person to find out, Yuki. Who I only told because she is my best friend. And she would have probably gone completely berserk on me if I didn't when she finally did find out."

"And you explained the entire situation to me", said Yuki. "I have to admit, I'm surprised, still."

"It's a lot to take in", said Cari. "Even I had some trouble at first."

"Really", Demyx asked.

Cari nodded, though she was becoming irritated with all the interruptions. "Anyway, now, we have Xigbar and Demyx. I imagine Xigbar figured it out on his own this morning before the bell. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to find that Xion noticed as well." She looked at Xion. "You did notice, didn't you? That my aura was completely different today."

Xion nodded. "Yes," she said, "I noticed. I also figured Xigbar noticed. He was staring at you until you left for the bathroom."

"Makes sense", said Cari. "You sorcerers notice a lot that others don't." She paused a second. "By the way, I didn't leave because 'nature called'. I caught a whiff of blood. Demyx's blood."

"So you went to check it out", said Xigbar.

"Yes", said Cari. "I did. The smell made me uneasy. Especially as Demyx wasn't with us—never mind that Yuki was running late."

"So you didn't actually have to go to the bathroom", said Xion. "I didn't think you did."

Cari nodded. "When I found Demyx, he was hurt", she said. "Bleeding neck, sitting up against the wall in the", she paused a split second, for embarrassment setting in, "boy's bathroom. Yes, I actually went in there." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, it was then I told Demyx what happened, that he had been attacked by a vampire. And that I was also a vampire. And when Xigbar confirmed that he knew what I was."

Demyx bit his lip. "Yeah, it was really uncomfortable" he said.

Yuki gave Demyx a worried glance. That's why he had looked pale. "And then the rest of the day went mostly normal", she said.

"Yes", said Cari.

"So, refresh my memory", said Larxene. "Why are we all here? It can't possibly be just to tell that story."

Cari scoffed. "No, of course not", she said. "Why we're here is because we have a problem. One that Xigbar, especially, has stressed the importance of. You see, any vampire is able to perform basic healing magic. Though some more proficiently than others."

"And Cari had to show up and heal Demyx", said Xigbar. "Because whoever took his blood didn't heal him when they should have. Healing is a basic ability for anyone not human."

"Yes, and then you showed up as we were cleaning the blood away", said Cari. "Making an already awkward situation even more awkward."

"I bet Larxene was the one who did it", Yuki said coldly.

Larxene growled. "Like hell I would", she snapped. "For one, I'm not stupid enough to do something like that in a school. Two, I always heal the human afterward. And three, I had already fed before that happened!"

"Yeah, sure", Yuki retorted angrily. "I still say you did it."

"You're pushing it, human", Larxene growled. "You're lucky Cari likes you. Or you'd be in so much trouble." She gave Yuki a death glare.

"Knock it off, both of you", Cari growled. "It wasn't Larxene. The scent was completely different. That much I do know. Yuki, I suggest you back off. I told Larxene before. If she ever hurt one of my friends, the consequences would be dire."

Yuki growled at Larxene, and turned her attention back to Cari. "I'm still not so sure about her", she said. "But I trust you. Just don't expect me to hold hands with her and sing Kumbaya yet."

Cari shrugged. "I wouldn't blame you", she admitted.

"Now that we all know the situation, what next", asked Vexen. "Are you going to track down whoever did it?"

"Of course", said Cari. "Anyone who hurts my friends will pay. The only lead there is right now, though, is that they are somewhere in the school."

"How many vampires could there be at school", asked Demyx.

"I'm not sure", said Cari. "With so many humans around, it's hard to tell. The scent of humans is overwhelming. Honestly, I barely noticed what Xigbar was. It can be difficult to differentiate with so many humans around."

"So how do we find out", asked Yuki. She was beginning to get really irritated, and didn't care she was showing it. No one hurt her brother. "We can't just make a public scene out of it."

"No, we can't", said Xigbar. "That would cause a riot. If not an all out war."

"Cari," said Demyx, "what do we do?"

Cari raised an eyebrow at Demyx. "Since when did I decide things for everyone", she asked.

"Hey, I'm not much of a leader", Xion said immediately, raising her hands a bit in defense.

"Well, neither am I", said Cari. "I would think the one most qualified for that is Xigbar. He's probably more used to dealing with these situations. So he'd probably know what to do."

Xigbar nodded. "Yes, I have dealt with these situations before", he said. "But I normally work alone. Or under someone else."

"Well, we need some kind of leader, don't we", asked Yuki.

"I say it should be Cari", said Larxene. "Despite what she says, she is a good leader."

Cari frowned at Larxene. "Really, what makes you think I'd be a good leader", she asked.

"Well, I don't think Demyx would know where to start.", said Xion. "And neither would Yuki, to be very honest. Larxene apparently answers to you. Xigbar just said he normally takes orders from others or works alone. I already said I'm nothing for a leader. And aren't you normally the one who tries to keep all of us out of trouble? You took the initiative."

Cari closed her eyes and sighed. Xion had a point, unfortunately. She was probably one of the most responsible out of all her friends. But she didn't like having so much pressure put on her. There was a point where things got too stressful, and she was certain they were fast approaching that point. Whether they actually did or not was still up in the air.

"Alright, fine", Cari said, opening her eyes again. "I'll do it. But only because you all seem to think I'm the best suited." She watched everyone. They all seemed content. At least somewhat content, considering the situation.

This was going to be interesting. Cari knew that much right now. And potentially very dangerous. After all, there was no telling what would happen, especially if something went wrong. She wasn't sure how they'd all come out—unscathed or not—but it had to be done. Regardless of what anyone thought of the entire thing, something had to be done. She just prayed it was all just some kind of misunderstanding.

She was nervous about everyone here helping. While she, Larxene, Xigbar, and Xion could take care of themselves, she didn't know how Yuki and Demyx would fare. Yuki could be terrifying, but was likely no match for a vampire. And Demyx wasn't exactly the bravest person out there in the first place. Maybe it would be better she warn everyone of the dangers before something happened to either of them.

Vexen looked at Cari. She looked uneasy. "Is everything alright", he asked.

Cari looked at Vexen. "I'm just thinking about the dangers", she said honestly. She looked around at everyone again. "I think I should warn some of you. This will be dangerous. I don't know what's going to happen. And honestly, I'm nervous myself. Getting hurt is extremely likely. So if any of you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you not get involved."

Demyx frowned nervously. "I don't want to get hurt", he said. "But I already got bitten, so I think I will help out."

Yuki looked at Demyx, then back at Cari. "And I need to help make sure Demyx doesn't get himself in deep trouble", she said. "And keep him focused."

Cari nodded. "Ok", she said. She paused. Everyone was watching her, and it made her slightly uneasy. "We'll talk more in the morning if we can. And then we'll meet here after school." She looked at Vexen. "Will that be alright?"

"Fine", said Vexen. "Just don't make a mess. You can use the attic."

"Thanks", said Cari. She sighed. This was going to be very interesting indeed. She just hoped it didn't become too dramatic in the end. God only knew she didn't need any more drama right now.

To Be Continued


	11. Chapter 11-Adding Frustration

**Note: Ok, Cari's ringtone is a reference to one of the songs that I really like, and shows up once more, at least. Though, there, you actually get a small part of the chorus. Past that, I'm really not sure. Anyway, I'm feeling really nice at the moment, and figured that since the last chapter was mostly chatter in the end, I would give you a second. I had intended to post it yesterday, but, well, that didn't happen. ^^;**

**Also, I'd like to say that Cari doesn't hate her status as a vampire throughout the entire story. It just takes a few things before she really accepts it. As well as some drama, but you'll see that later.**

**Anyway, happy reading and please review. Feedback really helps.**

Chapter 11: Adding Frustration

Cari growled silently as she sat down on her bed. This wasn't how she wanted things to go at all. Things were going to get too complicated. And she didn't like that very much. Her life had already become complicated enough—more so than it needed to be. Because in truth, she'd only ever wanted a normal life. Well, normal to her standards. But now that was out of her reach. The chance for a normal life had been abandoned when she became a vampire. And now she'd been hurdled into a life she had even less control over.

Scooting back against the wall, she drew in her legs and loosely wrapped her arms around them. She rested her forehead on her knees and sighed. She felt tears begin to form in her eyes.

Today was hardly what she considered good. How could it be? Demyx had been attacked. And Larxene, who Cari wasn't sure what to truly think of, had shown up, making her day even more stressful. Now, besides finding whoever had created the issue involving Demyx, she had to keep Larxene under control at least some. If she'd had any good luck before, it seemed to have just run out.

She wanted so badly to scream. But she didn't. Or rather, she really just couldn't. Not if she wanted to keep people from worrying. She didn't like others worrying about her. And it wasn't like she could just be honest about it and say that she wasn't fine. She preferred not to bother anyone else with her problems. She'd rather keep it to herself, considering everyone had something wrong in their life.

And right now, she was far from fine. Her emotions were in utter turmoil. She couldn't stand it. While she knew she'd be this way, she couldn't stop it. She couldn't help feeling sad. Feeling empty, hurting inside, being angry—hating herself.

She hated herself now. She hated herself for all the mistakes she made. For being reckless. Doing stupid things. Almost getting herself killed. And for hurting her friends. She couldn't forgive herself. Others would have said it was alright, and were she standing in their shoes, she'd say the same. Forgiving others was always easier than forgiving herself.

She blinked and tears began rolling down her cheeks and staining her glasses. This wasn't how she wanted things at all. She didn't want to be a vampire. But she hadn't wanted to just die and leave her loved ones sad. That would have hurt even worse.

She hated that she had to drink blood. Or at least, drink it as often as she did. It wasn't that she hated blood. It was delicious. And essential to her health. It was just, she was concerned about others. She didn't want to hurt anyone by drinking their blood, and she couldn't go on just animal blood.

It made her feel horrible. Loving the taste of blood so much. She'd never had something so delicious before. But she hated it, too. It made her feel like a monster. Well, technically, she was a monster. But she felt even more like one.

Why did vampires have to be attracted to blood so easily? It was tempting even thinking about it, let alone being around it. An open wound, if only bleeding a bit, smelled sweeter than honey to her. How tempting it was had already been proven twice in one day.

When Demyx had been attacked, she'd smelled the blood all the way in the cafeteria. Even at such a distance, it was tempting her slightly. And then finding Demyx, it was even harder to resist. Truthfully, she'd barely kept herself restrained by reminding herself that he was already hurt.

And when she'd come home, and Vexen had cut his finger, she'd hurried to heal it. Sure he'd had a reason. He was worried about her. But still, that was no call for doing that. Vexen may know some things about vampires, but he had no idea how tempting the smell of blood was to them. She found it shocking how he could have done something so reckless. So not him.

Cari grabbed her mp3 player and put the head phones on, the kind that had that looked like a headband and connected the ear pieces. She didn't like the ear buds, because she went through them like candy almost. She figured they weren't really made to last long. And she didn't much care for the headphones with the band that wrapped around the back of her head, either. But that was mostly because she found it tedious to almost constantly pull her hair out from under it.

Just as she turned her music on, she heard her cell phone go off, playing yet another favorite song as her ringtone, which was currently now starting one of the few Japanese songs she had courtesy of Yuki. She put the mp3 player in her pocket and grabbed the phone and looked at the caller ID. She definitely didn't recognize the number. She pulled back one of the ear pieces and tucked it behind her ear, something she did commonly, and went ahead and answered anyway.

"Hello, Cari", she heard a feminine voice chime.

"Hello", she said, as calmly as she could. Though it wasn't easy, seeing as how her voice was broken, she managed. "May I ask who's calling?"

"Don't tell me you forgot the sound of my voice", the person said, sounding overdramatically offended. "It's me, you know, your best friend."

Cari blinked a few times. The voice was familiar, and the overdramatic tone was unmistakable. She almost smacked her forehead. "Don't tell me", she said, cheering up significantly. "Chassidy, right?"

"Of course", said Chassidy. "Who else could it be?"

Cari pictured her golden haired friend with that feral grin plastered on her face. Highly doubtful she'd changed any.

"So how'd you manage to get my cell number", asked Cari. She could only imagine how she got it. "I thought you lost the phone numbers after your last move."

"How'd you know I lost the numbers", Chassidy asked, laughing a nervously, something she wasn't known for doing much in the past.

"Just a guess", Cari said, now herself grinning. It was so like her to lose something.

"I'm not that predictable, am I", asked Chassidy.

Cari laughed. "Sometimes you are", she said. "I can totally see you losing yet another phone number. It's not that hard."

"You've turned into a real smartass since you moved", Chassidy grumbled. "Be nice, or I'll have you mucking out stalls when I take over the world."

Cari laughed again. Chassidy hadn't changed at all. Still that same smart-alecky attitude. And that same 'take over the world' joke. One that she now thought of as simply amusing and nothing else. Hardly taken seriously as she had when her friend first told her.

"Yeah, right", Cari said, still laughing a bit. She rolled her eyes. "Like that could happen in a million years."

"It could", Chassidy snapped back, sounding overdramatically frantic. "You don't know that it couldn't!"

"Whoa, calm down", Cari laughed. "Besides, I think I actually have a better chance of that then you now." This was going to be quite enjoyable to mess with Chassidy. So long as she didn't slip out her secret, anyway.

"Oh, really", Chassidy asked skeptically.

"Yeah, really", Cari came back with, her tone now slightly mocking.

"Oh, really", Chassidy stretched out her words even more. "What makes you think you could take over the world and not me?"

Cari chuckled musingly. "Because", she taunted.

"Because why", Chassidy asked, apparently almost laughing.

"Just because", Cari taunted again.

"Tell me", Chassidy demanded now.

Cari laughed. "I'm kidding", she said. "I'd never do that. I was just messing with you. So calm down."

"That was mean", Chassidy said, probably pouting.

"Where do you think I got it", Cari retorted.

"Yeah, yeah", Chassidy grumbled. "Smartass."

Cari shook her head. "Now, back to my earlier question", she said. "How'd you get my number?"

Chassidy seemed to pause, obviously calming down a bit. "Yuffie told me, of course", she said. "I found her number just the other day and called her."

"And then you questioned her for mine", said Cari.

"Yeah, pretty much", said Chassidy.

"And she snapped at you", said Cari.

"Yup", Chassidy quipped.

"Figures", said Cari. She laughed, picturing her raven haired cousin giving Chassidy the riot act through the phone. And Chassidy squinting her eyes closed and holding the phone about two inches away from her ear as Yuffie yelled. And of course, her brother, Zack, trying to calm her down. "She has a few anger issues."

"Yeah, well I guess it runs in the family, then", said Chassidy.

Cari jerked at that statement. "Hey", she snapped angrily.

"See what I mean", said Chassidy. Cari could picture a smug grin on her face. "Runs in the family."

Cari rolled her eyes. "So, anyway. How have you been lately?"

"Good", said Chassidy. "We're getting packed up again."

"You're moving again", Cari asked, surprised. "But you just moved last year. What happened now?"

"Dad was offered a good job, so now we're moving", said Chassidy.

"How soon are you moving", asked Cari.

"Thursday", said Chassidy. "Most of our stuff is already packed up."

"Really", said Cari. "So that's how you found Yuffie's number. Ok. So where are you moving to?"

"Take a guess", said Chassidy, who sounded like she was trying to hold back laughter.

"By any chance, is it Twilight Town", asked Cari. She would not be at all surprised if it were. It was as if fate was working to make her life even more complicated than it needed to be.

"Yup", said Chassidy. "I'll be going to the same school as you again. Lucky, huh?"

Cari rolled her eyes a bit, and, as enthusiastically as she could, gave a, "Yeah." "That is lucky. How soon will you be enrolled at the high school?" She sighed inwardly, though. Lucky, indeed.

"Already am", said Chassidy. "So I'll be starting at the end of the week."

"Ok, that's good", said Cari.

But she mentally groaned. While she loved her friend dearly, this was only going to add another complication to things. And it was highly doubtful that they could get the current issue dealt with before Chassidy got there.

"When I get there, you've got to introduce me to your friends", said Chassidy.

Cari smiled. "No problem", she said. "We'll show you around when you get settled in."

"Can't wait", Chassidy chirped. "Well, I'd better go. I had to beg my parents to let me call you. They wanted to make it a surprise."

"Yeah, ok", said Cari. "Bye. See you soon."

Cari closed the phone and set it down on her bed, groaning. Things were not going to get any easier now. And of course, Chassidy had to be just as adventurous as her. Now she'd not only have to worry about her friends who were already here, but now she'd have to worry about Chassidy, too. Why couldn't her life just be simple anymore?

Trying to relax, she pulled the ear piece back over her ear. She laid down on her bed, pulling her mp3 player back out. It was still playing Still Doll, but she didn't want to listen to it now. So she flipped through them for a while, and finally found a good song to hopefully cheer herself up.

Zexion sighed as he got up from the chair at his desk and went over to sit down on his bed. He looked out the window on the other side of his room. For some reason, he couldn't help but think something was going on. Something seemed to be wrong—or at least different. He had no clue what it really was. But he felt like it had something to do with Cari. And it wasn't just that they were now dating.

He couldn't explain it, but there was something different about her besides her improved athletic abilities. Whatever was different was a complete mystery to him. And he was driving himself crazy trying to figure it out. Something about her changed over the summer. Maybe it was just his imagination, though. Or maybe it wasn't. If it wasn't, there was obviously something Cari wasn't telling him about herself.

But he couldn't possibly imagine what she wouldn't tell him. It was a ridiculous thought. And if she did hide something, it couldn't be that important, could it? Well, maybe it could. But she wouldn't, right? He'd been thoroughly honest with her since they started talking. And until she'd returned from camp, he was under the impression she'd been the same.

He honestly didn't know. But ever since she'd come back from camp, there was a huge difference. No, even before that, there was a difference. The day right after their first date, she was different. It was probably because she was just happy, though. That seemed to be the only thing he could think of.

But something seemed to be missing—some piece of the puzzle that he knew he'd seen, but couldn't think where or when. It was like a blip in his memory, like a mystery within the mystery. His memory was impeccable. What could he have forgotten? And why? It was frustrating him. He couldn't stand not knowing something important. But he was going to find out. Some way and somehow, he was going to solve that little mystery. He just needed to know what was going on.

To Be Continued


	12. Chapter 12-Time Restraints

**Note: Really not sure why I'm posting so quickly at the moment. It's not like I've gotten any reviews that really have anything to do with the actual story... But yeah, here's a quickie update for you. It's more chatter again, of course, but there's a reason for it being here. There's always a reason for something being here. Keep that in mind down the road.**

**Happy reading an please review.**

Chapter 12: Time Restraints

Cari smiled as she saw Zexion coming up the sidewalk on his bicycle "Morning Zexy", she said, waving to him. "What's up?"

Zexion stopped in front of Cari and smiled. "Good morning", he said. "How are you today?"

"I'm good", said Cari. "You look a little out of breath. You ok?"

"I'm fine", said Zexion. "It just takes a little while to get from my house to yours. I wanted to walk to school with you."

Cari blushed a little. "Ok", she said. She watched as Zexion put his bicycle in the garage and come back out. The minute he started back, she realized he wasn't going to take a break and they headed in the direction of the school.

Cari liked that she lived fairly close to the school. For one, it meant getting plenty of fresh air. And two, it meant she didn't have to ride the school bus, which she was very glad for. They were always so noisy. Not to mention crowded. She hated being in such close quarters with people she really didn't know. Especially now that she was a vampire.

Zexion noticed her expression. "Did something happen", he asked. "You look a little agitated."

"It's nothing big", Cari said, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen at the end of the week. An old friend of mine from Radiant Garden is moving here Thursday."

"Really? And you're a bit nervous about it", Zexion asked.

"Yeah, a bit", Cari admitted. "One, I haven't seen her in years. And two, it's highly unlikely she's changed any. So she's probably going to say something to embarrass me in front of everyone."

Zexion chuckled. "You mean with stories from elementary school? That should be interesting. I think I'd like to hear them."

Cari blushed and pouted at Zexion. "Hey, come on", she whined. "Not cool!"

"Don't worry, I'm kidding", Zexion smirked, and whispered, "Mostly."

Cari rolled her eyes, making him laugh again. "Very funny." He didn't know, but she'd actually caught that last word. And she really didn't find it amusing.

"You never really have talked about your life in Radiant Garden", said Zexion.

Cari smiled softly to hide the pain. "That's because there isn't a whole lot to say", she said.

"I'm sure there's plenty more to tell", said Zexion. "What about your mom? You never said much about her. Only that she was a great person. What was she like?"

"I'll tell you later, ok", said Cari. "If I start talking about her, I'm likely to end up depressed or something."

"Oh, then you don't have to", said Zexion. "If you're not ready, then I won't force you."

Cari blushed a bit. "Thanks", she said.

She looked back ahead and thought about how her life had changed—again. It had become a recurring topic in her own mind. When she compared it to just after summer break, it wasn't a terrible lot that had changed. Yes, sure, what she was had changed entirely. But her personality was still the same, if only a little more serious at times. Not like anyone could clearly notice it, though.

However, compared to before she even moved to Twilight Town, she'd changed a lot. So much it was almost amazing. Not just in what she was, but who she was. Now, her personality was very different. Then again, it had shifted a lot during her time in Radiant Garden, too. Then again, considering the events, of course it had. No one could ever be exactly the same after something like that. Before, she was almost always smiling and cheerful. And it was easier to hurt her. So much easier. She always ended up depending on her friends and family to help her.

Her mom was always there to cheer her up and make her feel better. Vexen wasn't always the greatest for comforting others, but his uncanny ability to have one of his experiments blow up on him and creating utterly amusing results right after the issue was mentioned always seemed to make her laugh. Yuffie was always there and willing to give whoever had hurt her a nice long rant about being nice to her. As was her best friend at the time, Chassidy. Though, she also never failed to scold her afterwards for not sticking up for herself better. And Yuffie's older brother, Zack, more often then not, calmed them down before anyone managed to get hurt. Normally being Yuffie, who was the most reckless person they knew.

That said, after the accident that left her without her mom, she became withdrawn a lot. She'd come to prefer not talking about things nearly as much. In fact, she didn't talk much at all. Only when she had no other choice, or people bugged her to death. And she was no longer ever-smiling as before.

And she'd left Radiant Garden that way, too. It had been two years after Molly's death, but nothing had really changed much. If anything, she didn't just break down and cry if someone hurt her feelings. She also got angry and yelled. Her temper had grown a lot over that time period.

When she and Vexen first moved to Twilight Town, she was a little more than nervous around everyone. For one, as far as she knew, neither of them knew anyone yet. And when she'd started school again, she felt like she'd been immediately labeled as shy. Not that she wasn't, and she knew it. She could be very shy.

But that didn't stop her new best friend, Yuki, from coming up to her and being friendly and cheerful. It wasn't long after that that she met Yuki's brother, Demyx, and their friends. They had warmed up to her quite nicely, too.

They had all gotten her to open up again, but she still wasn't the same as before. She still didn't tell others everything on her mind when they'd ask. It had taken a while before her friends found out about her mom. She was still a bit shy. And her temper was no better then before. She was now somewhere in between before and after her mom died.

Cari and Zexion stepped inside the school and went to their lockers, that were both inconveniently on either side of the school. And on both separate floors, to boot. At least they could see each other before the first bell and in most of their classes.

Opening her locker, she pulled her books out of her backpack and proceeded to put what she didn't need yet away. She sighed at the organized locker. She doubted it would be long before she crammed random papers in it. And thus making it an organized mess for the hundredth time.

She stuffed her backpack in and closed the locker, revealing Larxene on the other side of the door.

"Morning, Larxene", Cari said. She glanced around to see if anyone else was around. Fortunately, not another soul was in sight. She looked at her friend. "Find anything?"

Larxene shook her head. "Nothing", she said. "I haven't found anything. Maybe the others have?"

"I wouldn't know", said Cari. "The only other person I've seen this morning is Zexion. And as we both know, he doesn't know."

"Unless someone has slipped it to him or something", Larxene said, rolling her eyes. "That would probably cause some major problems for you and Xigbar."

"I know", Cari said, annoyance entering her voice. She knew precisely how it could cause problems. "Now let's get down to the cafeteria before anyone comes looking for us."

She began to make her way down, Larxene in tow. As they made their way to the cafeteria, they were approached by a brown haired boy. Though, Larxene sent him a nasty glare, shooing him away.

Cari looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Was that really necessary", she asked.

"Sorry, didn't know you wanted another guy flirting with you", said Larxene, a slight edge to her tone.

Cari sighed. "Fine", she said. "Just no more nasty glares. I don't want to be known as the girl with a friend who has a really bad attitude." The only way she could get some things through to Larxene was by being blunt. It wasn't quite what she was used to anymore, but it had to be done.

They made their into the cafeteria and found their friends at their normal spot. Cari glanced around to make sure everyone was there. And they were, fortunately. Cari smiled.

"Morning, everyone", she said.

Demyx looked over at her and gave a wide smile. "Morning, Cari", he sang. He was always cheerful in the mornings. And at the moment, he was sitting on the table instead of in a chair.

Cari sighed. "Demyx, what have I told you about sitting on tables. Tables are for glasses, not asses. Now if you're going to sit, pick a chair." She walked over to him and lightly pulled him in a downward motion.

Demyx gave a sheepish laugh and got down, sitting in one the chairs.

A blond girl looked up at Cari from her sketchbook. "Cari, are you ok", she asked. "You look a little pale. Well, more than usual, anyway." It hadn't just been today she'd noticed it—also every time she saw her.

Cari looked over at the blond and smiled reassuringly. "Well, you know I never really had good sleep habits", she said. "But I was up particularly late last night."

The girl raised an eyebrow, not sure if she should believe her. "Are you sure you're ok", she asked.

"After my coffee, of course I'm fine", Cari said, smiling brightly now. "Don't worry, Namine. I had my coffee."

Namine continued to look at Cari skeptically. She briefly glanced down at her drawing of a girl wearing a long black coat with the hood up holding a katana as if she were about to fight she'd just finished. A drawing from her dream last night.

Looking back up at Cari, she felt that something was going on with her that fit with the drawing. But she couldn't be certain. Her dreams weren't always clear. But even though last night's dream hadn't been that clear, she felt that it somehow connected. If nothing else, through something else, anyway.

Namine sighed lightly in defeat. "If you say so", she said. "What had you up later than usual?"

"Thinking, mostly", said Cari. "My friend from Radiant Garden called me last night. She told me she was moving again. Only this time, she's moving here."

"You mean Chassidy", Yuki asked, looking up from the homework she was finishing last minute. Her eyes widened and she grinned widely as Cari nodded. "Awesome! I always did want to meet her. When's she coming?"

"Thursday", Cari said, smiling brighter, even though she didn't really want to. "I'm really exited."

"Well, only a few more days", Marluxia chimed slightly.

Cari's smile turned into a mischievous smirk. "You're just hoping you can finally actually get a girlfriend to prove you're not gay, aren't you?" It sounded like a joke, but she was actually being completely serious.

Marluxia tried to fight back a blush, but apparently failed a bit. He raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that", he asked.

"That little blush on your face", Cari said, smirking more. "And your face lit up like a light bulb when I had just mentioned she was moving."

Yuki tried to stifle a laugh. "Nice."

Marluxia crossed his arms and scowled at Cari, who simply laughed. "Not funny", he said.

"Pretty funny from where I was standing", Xigbar laughed.

"Oh, shut up", Marluxia snapped.

"Maybe Chassidy will tell us about the little adventures you two had", said Axel, who had been helping Yuki with her last minute homework. "I'd like to hear them."

Cari blushed. "Oh, come on", she pouted. "Not cool."

"I bet they're good stories", said Zexion, finally joining the group.

Cari looked at Zexion and blushed more. "I thought you said you were kidding earlier", she whined.

"I'm only saying I think they're good stories", said Zexion. He placed a hand on Cari's head. "So calm down."

Cari smiled sheepishly. "Ok."

Xigbar frowned as Zexion moved his hand. He looked at Cari. "How come he can do that without getting hurt," he asked, "but when I do it, I get slapped?"

"Simple", Cari said, looking at Xigbar. "Zexy doesn't make a big deal about my height."

Cari stepped up into the attic and sighed, turning on the light. It wasn't much, but it would do for now. Though, it hadn't been cleaned in a few months, so it had gathered plenty of dust. It was also a tad cluttered. There were boxes everywhere. But at least there was some room to move. And they could use the boxes to sit on.

She sighed as she maneuvered her way through the various things in there. Hopefully this would only be temporary. It was hardly a discreet place to meet. If her friends came over here to meet a lot, it would cause some rumors. Rumors that she didn't want to deal with. They may not lead to anyone finding out her secret, but she still didn't want to take the risk.

As moved farther back, she found an old rocking chair that had belonged to her grandpa on her mom's side of the family. But after he'd passed away, her mom got it. She sat down in it and rocked back a bit, smiling as it creaked. How she missed the days when she could curl up with either her grandpa or her mom. But that was when she was still quite young.

Her grandpa had died when she was five. And she didn't remember much. But she could still hear his griping when she managed to get herself into a mess. And his kind words when she was feeling down. She missed him a lot.

And her mom had passed when she was only nine. Molly was always such a kindhearted woman, much like Cari really was. No matter what happened, or how angry she was, she'd always care about others. And she was always able to somehow cheer her up.

Cari wondered what the both would say if they were with her right now. Knowing that she was a vampire now. She doubted either would be happy to know how it happened. In fact, she knew they wouldn't be pleased at her recklessness. But she couldn't help wonder what all they would say. Aside from her grandpa's somewhat harsh words and Molly's annoyance, she had no clue how they would take it. She could picture the both of them startled half to death, though.

She wondered again what else they would say. After the initial shock, anything could actually happen. As far as she remembered, her grandpa never said anything about vampires or magic. And she had half a mind to think he hadn't even believed in any of that, anyway. He might very well be scared of what would happen next. Though, no one could really blame him.

Molly, on the other hand, had always had a sort of fascination with magic. That was how Cari had always taken it, anyway. She'd joke about things like that a lot, and played numerous 'games' with it. Or she'd tell her that if she didn't behave, the evil witch would come and capture her and use her in a potion. Or that the big bad vampire would come and drain her blood. (Oh, the irony there.)

But to tell the truth, she didn't know what Molly would really do. Until just perhaps a shade more then two months ago, she'd thought all of that was just fantasy. She wondered if her mom had even known that some of those things she'd talked about were real.

Cari shook her head. Probably not. But then she also didn't know one way or the other and was just guessing.

So what would she have done? Cari didn't even have a clue. Perhaps freak out over it and ask questions as to how she was feeling. She highly doubted Molly could ever be heartless enough to hate her for it. Even if she tried. It just wasn't her.

Closing her eyes, she let the chair rock forward and back again. If only she could share it with someone now. She smiled. Perhaps she could share the seat with Zexion. That would make her happy.

But unfortunately, she didn't have any more time to daydream, as she heard the creaking of wooden steps. She stood up and stretched a bit, walking over the top of the steps. She sighed inwardly. It was her friends. Or at least, the ones who actually knew her secret. Not that she didn't mind them knowing it or seeing them. She actually liked it. But she didn't like the reasons behind it.

She moved as they all came up. Yuki first, looking a lot more relaxed then last night. She was talking with Xigbar about something, but Cari didn't bother to pay attention. Demyx was next, looking quite anxious again. He'd probably stay that way for quite a while, even after this mess was taken care of. And Larxene, who looked like she bit into a lemon and, needless to say, in a foul mood. But there was no Xion among them.

Cari raised an eyebrow. "Where's Xion", she asked.

Everyone looked over at Cari.

"She'll be here soon", said Xigbar.

"She'd better", Cari growled. "We don't have time to waste."

Yuki sighed. "I know we don't have much time. But we have to have some patience for this."

Cari shot Yuki a scowl. "I'm just pointing out that we don't have a lot of time", she said. She inwardly growled. This was not going to be any easier now with a time limit if she wanted to keep Chassidy out of things. She knew how nosy her friend could get. And if she got involved, there would be many unneeded questions to deal with.

"And why is there an even bigger rush on things again", someone asked from right behind Cari.

Jumping, Cari snapped around to glare at whoever had startled her. "Damn it, Xion", she snapped. "Don't just pop up behind me and startle me like that!"

Xion laughed at Cari's fumed expression. "But this is the first time I've ever actually been able to do that to you", she said.

Cari's face turned a light red. "Well, don't! God only knows what I'd do! Besides, I'm not even in a particularly pleasant mood!"

Xion smirked a bit and rolled her eyes, joining the others so Cari could easily look at everyone. "Anyway, what's the big rush now", she asked.

"Yeah, I don't get it", said Demyx. "I know it's important, but why are you acting even more impatient?"

Cari took a deep breath, and exhaled, trying to calm down some. "As I said this morning, Chassidy is moving here on Thursday", she said, though not as calmly as she would have liked.

Larxene gave her a funny look. "And what's the problem", she asked.

"She's adventurous, energetic after mornings, smart, and a bit nosey when she thinks something's up", said Cari. "Bad combination right now. She'd be likely to figure something's up big time, and might try to get involved. And I really don't want her getting involved."

"Point made and taken", Larxene conceded. "So how are we even going to find who started this whole mess?"

"Why don't we sit down first", Demyx asked. He rubbed the back of his head when everyone turned to look at him. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired of standing."

"Yeah, let's sit down now", said Cari. She watched as everyone sat down on a box or stack of them. She sighed, sitting down on a large box, herself.

"So how are we going to find who started this", Axel asked again. "And are we really going to be able to get this figured out before Chassidy gets here?"

"I don't know if we will be able to get this over with before then", Cari admitted. "I'm hoping we can, but there's a possibility we won't. There's a very good possibility we won't." She sighed, and glanced at everyone in turn, and then turned her attention to Xigbar. "What's the chance we will, though?"

Xigbar thought for a second. "We have approximately two days", he said, rather agitated by the time demands. "It's not likely that we can get it done before she gets here. Unless something unusual happens, and in a good way, we probably wouldn't get this taken care of until the weekend at best. Twilight High is not a small school. It could take at least two days just to find out who the vampire is. One sorceress can only do so much tracking auras at a time, you know. And then it would be a matter of getting a hold of them without much problem. Which is also unlikely."

"Shit", Larxene bit out. She gave a sighing growl and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sounds like this is an impossible task", said Yuki.

"So wait, is Xion the only one who will be able to find whoever bit me", asked Demyx.

"No, of course not", said Xion. "But it's just easiest for me. Cari hasn't been a vampire that long, even if she does have a lot of power. So she might not have much experience with it."

Cari nodded in agreement. And not only that, but because of her feeding habits, she was rarely at her best. But they didn't need to know that. She didn't feel it important to say right now. And it was bound to come out eventually somehow. So for right now, she would just keep it to herself. Besides, they never specifically asked her about it.

"Yeah", said Cari. "Not much experience with it." She glanced over at Larxene. "What about you? How do you do with tracking?"

Larxene shifted uneasily. "I can do it", she said. "But it's not my strong point."

"And I can only do so much there", said Xigbar. "Usually, I already know who I have to go after."

"Then that means Dem-Dem and I have no chance at finding the person", said Yuki. "I mean, the only thing I've noticed is the air being a bit different around you. And not because of your affinity, either."

"Wait, what is your affinity, anyway, Cari", Xion asked. She glanced over at Xigbar. "Someone never told me."

"Oh, sorry, poppet", said Xigbar. "Guess I forgot to mention that."

"Guess you forgot to mention a lot", Xion retorted. She glanced back over at Cari again, but not before catching sight of Xigbar's frown. "So what is it?"

"Air", said Cari, this time without blushing.

Xion blinked in surprise. "Well, I knew you had a lot of power, but I didn't expect that affinity", she said. "That's definitely a rare one. One of the four rarest. And only the strongest vampires get those."

Now Cari blushed. "Yes, that's about right", she sighed.

"So… how do we all help out", asked Demyx. "If Yuki and I can't help find who attacked me, what do we do?"

Cari though for a minute. "Well, Yuki said that the air around me is different, so why not pay closer attention to what each person feels like. If they seem different than an average human, tell either me, Xigbar, Larxene, or Xion. We'll be able to know what they are."

"And how will you be able to track the vamp's aura", asked Yuki.

Xion stood up and walked over to Demyx. "If you're bit by a vampire, their aura will stick on you for a while", she said. "It's only been a day and a half since Demyx was attacked, there's still some of their aura left on him." She touched his neck for a minute, making him flinch a bit. She pulled her hand away and waved it past Cari, Xigbar, and Larxene, letting them know the aura. "Ok, we got it now. Still could take a while to find the person, though. Even if we're all doing something to help."

"Ok", said Xigbar. "So we start looking immediately."

"Yeah", Cari said, nodding. "But be as subtle and discreet as possible. We don't need anyone getting nosey and trying to find out what's going on."

She mentally groaned for the hundredth time that day. Why did things have to get harder instead of easier? Keeping others out of this mess was much easier said than done. Especially Chassidy. She wasn't a busybody, but she was the curious type. Far more nerve-wracking then an idiot trying to find a corner in a round room.

To Be Continued


	13. Chapter 13-Luck, Good Or Bad

**Right, so~ Lucky number thirteen. I think I'm uploading so quickly at the moment because I want to reach where the story starts to pick up some more. Plus there's the fact that I can get a little impatient. Anyway, this chapter is kind of odd for the first part, but it's still part of the story all the same. Don't skip it just to get to the second part. Also, yes, Yuki has... problems. Those are elaborated on much later in the story, but won't come up much if at all at this point. It takes a good... fifty or so chapters. And then wham! Also, Final Fantasy characters will start showing up at the end of chapter fifteen. We start with Reno, but Xiggy isn't too happy with him. Now, on with the chapter.**

**Also, just to go ahead and do so now, I'm going to change the rating of the story to M before or when the next chapter comes, which will be slated for Saturday. Reasoning-eventually, the violence does get taken up a notch.**

**Happy reading, and please review.**

Chapter 13: Luck, Good Or Bad

Cari slouched down on her bed. She looked over at the pile of black leather material beside her. It was the special clothes that Xion and Xigbar had given her to wear at night. As well as Larxene , Yuki, and Demyx. Apparently, it was the usual Hunter's work uniform of sorts and had some very convenient enchantments placed on it. A pair of black leather pants, long black leather coat with hood and zipper that started about a foot above the bottom of the coat, a pair of black leather gloves, and even a pair of black leather boots.

She frowned. It wasn't that she didn't like the color—she loved black. It was one of her three favorites, along with pink and silver. But it had to be leather. She'd never actually worn much leather before. Mostly because she found the idea of it a little uncomfortable.

But it's not like she was going to complain about it to them. That it was leather. That was the only thing she didn't like about it. But otherwise, it was just fine. Besides, nothing better for the night than black.

She picked up the coat and looked at it better. Well, it didn't look too long for her. But she hadn't tried it on yet, either. So she didn't know how it would actually fit her. Though she liked the style of the sleeves already. They looked to be bell shaped half-way down. And the hood looked like it could easily hide her face.

She looked over at the pants, boots, and gloves. They looked ok, too. Of course the gloves looked like they'd be a bit snug on her hands. But she could have been wrong.

Right now, she hoped she was wrong. At least so far as how everything fit her and felt. She didn't particularly care for how so-called leather stuck to her skin and other such things. It was always annoying. She much preferred cotton material, or something not like leather.

Getting up and putting the coat back down, she walked over to her dresser, which happened to be practically on the other side of the room. She opened one of the drawers and sighed. Most everything was either the little bit of white she had, some light colors, and darker colors. She was severely lacking in black, at least in shirts and blouses. She had plenty black pants.

She pulled out one of the single black blouses she did have. It was a felt-material short-sleeved, mock turtleneck. And she absolutely adored wearing it when she could. But it wasn't particularly light to wear, and it would only serve to make her even warmer than she needed to be at the moment.

She put it back and opened another drawer, pulling out another black shirt. This one, however, was long-sleeved. And also close-fitting. But at least it was much lighter than the other blouse. She tossed it over onto her bed with the other clothes.

Walking over to the window, she sighed as she looked out the glass. It was now pouring buckets of rain out. She closed the curtains, and walked back over to her bed. She decided she might as well go ahead and try everything on.

After undressing, she first put on the pants, which she found to be surprisingly comfortable, if somewhat close-fitting on the thighs. She slipped on the shirt, and then the coat, which ended about a fourth the way down her lower legs. The sleeves started close fitting at the shoulders, that were also slightly padded, down to her elbows, and took a bell shape afterwards that reached slightly less than half-way down her hands.

As she zipped up the coat, she found that the bottom flowed out somewhat like her sundresses. Though, the hips and up were much more close-fitting, accenting her curves slightly. But it wasn't uncomfortable like she'd thought it would be. Close, yes, but not too close.

Sitting back down, she grabbed her boots. Looking at them, she now realized that they actually had somewhat high heels. She sighed. At least they weren't tiny, she could actually walk in them. But they looked to be about three or four inches, though she couldn't exactly tell which it was.

In about a minute, she had the boots on. They felt fine now, but she knew standing up, it would be different. Now she took the gloves and put them on. They were indeed snug, but again, not too snug.

She wobbled a bit at first as she stood up. She didn't wear heels that often, preferring sneakers over most else, so she wasn't used to them right now. But she liked how she felt a little taller. That was one of the only reasons she wore them when she did.

Cari turned over to the mirror in her room and looked at herself. Everything looked fine. Well, everything but her hair, which was now coming out of her once tight bun.

Sighing, she pulled the black schrunchy out, shaking her head so that her hair loosened and fell nicely around her face. She smiled slightly. Sometimes she forgot how long her hair actually was. At the moment, it reached about a third of the way down her back or so.

She actually looked nice with her hair down. But not like she actually wore it down much. She found it would often just get in her face. So she just kept it up in an ponytail, hair clip, or bun. She was, recently, not known by her friends to wear it down, and they always seemed to take note of when she did.

Perhaps she should wear it down more. Even if it did get in her face a lot. It would be a nice change of pace. And it would help keep her neck warm in the winter. And her friends, particularly Marluxia, had said she should wear it down more often.

Pushing the schrunchy onto her wrist, she pulled her hair back to wrap the schrunchy around it. Of course, it wasn't pulled high up on her head this time. Only pulled back behind her neck. It was much easier and quicker to do.

When she was satisfied with her hair, she flipped the hood up. It definitely hid her face well, and she could still see clearly. Or maybe it was just the magic imbedded into it. Xigbar and Xion had said they were charmed so that people could see easily out of the hood while still hiding their face. And to also mend themselves if ripped.

Cari couldn't help but smirk now. She loved how she looked mysterious in the coat. Making things easier if anyone ever caught her out. Which hopefully, few people actually would, since she'd be likely to just go into the forest. And with what happened at the beginning of summer break, it was doubtful people would go into the forest at all now.

* * *

Today was now Thursday. And Cari didn't want to get up at all. She just wanted to hide under her soft, though unneeded, blanket for the rest of the morning. If not the entire day. Because today, her very first friend was moving to Twilight Town. And it was going to make things even harder on her. After all, Chassidy had been the one to initiate several of their adventures before Cari moved. Naturally, there would be some other kind of adventure for her to involve herself in.

Her alarm clock ticked 5:45 A.M., but never went off. Instead, the alarm had been switched off seconds before it got the chance to. Not like it was needed since Cari was technically already awake. Still, it was bothersome. It always went off at this time.

Cari groaned, knowing the clock should have gone off by now. She still didn't want to get up, though. While she knew she should see why the clock didn't go off, she wasn't about to leave the softness of the blanket. At the moment, she almost didn't care that it didn't go off, beeping obnoxiously.

But sniffing the air, she scowled, though her eyes were still closed. Someone was in the room with her. And it wasn't Vexen, either. At first, she thought it might be Yuki or another of her friends coming to play a prank on her. But she didn't recognize the scent of whoever it was. This woke her up a bit more. Whoever was there shouldn't be there right now.

As soon as she felt someone's hand touching the blanket, like they were about to pull it off, she quickly shot her hand out, almost not even seen, and grabbed the person's arm. And needless to say, the person touching the blanket was shocked for words.

Not thinking who it could be, Cari swiftly jerked the person down, landing them on her side. And obviously somehow causing them to have a small cut on they're other wrist. Snapping her now semi-red eyes open, she stared at the bottom-side of her blanket in shock, as well as anger. This person was a human, and very likely didn't know what she was. This wasn't good.

The person on top of Cari seemed to wince. And of course, by their frame, Cari surmised they were a girl.

"H-hey", the girl snapped frantically, her voice quite recognizable. "Cari, what was that?!"

Cari softly bit her lip, feeling her fangs grow out. She let go of the girl's wrist and glared. "Chassidy, get up", she groaned tiredly. "And don't ever try something like that again."

Chassidy got up, holding her somewhat bleeding wrist with her now free hand, and watching the form that was Cari under the blanket. "Get up. And somehow, you managed to give me a cut on my wrist. Probably some splinter somewhere", she grumbled.

Cari groaned again. "I don't want to", she mumbled defiantly, now pulling the blanket under her head. "And get out."

"Not until you get your ass up", said Chassidy.

Cari groaned again, trying to force her eyes back to their usual blue hue and her fangs back. But to little avail. Chassidy had to leave—the last Cari knew, she hated seeing blood. And that definitely wouldn't mix well with Cari being a vampire now.

Chassidy moved back to attempt pulling the blanket off again. And as she did attempt to, Cari held the blanket in a powerful death grip. After a minute of attempting to pull the blanket off, Chassidy gave up.

"Wow, you've become grumpy in the mornings", said Chassidy. "Do you want to risk being late for school? It's almost 6:00."

"Why don't you go take care of your wrist first", Cari grumbled. "And how the hell are you even here right now? I thought you weren't moving until today."

"Yeah, well, we actually moved yesterday", said Chassidy.

Cari wanted to smack her so badly now. At least. "You lied to me", she growled. "Damn it, you lied!"

"Parents orders", said Chassidy. "And you're the one who's going to take care of my wrist. It is your fault."

Cari growled again. "No, it's yours for trying to pull the blanket off me. And I swear I may just bite you if you try that again."

"Oh, please", Chassidy huffed. "That's just an empty threat." She went for the blanket again, but didn't get very far.

The moment she so much as touched the blanket, Cari had her shoved against the nearest wall. She quickly realized this wasn't quite the same person she'd known most of her life. Not even after her mother's terrible accident that had left her so far into despair that she was almost unrecognizable. Something had happened recently, and it seemed to have changed her almost entirely yet again.

Cari didn't realize how fast she actually moved until she had Chassidy pinned to the wall. It had been all pure instinct when she moved. And both she and Chassidy knew that no normal human could ever move that fast. No doubt Chassidy was frightened—the speed alone was enough to do that without the red in Cari's irises.

Her expression grew all the more strained as she worked against her instinct to bite her friend. She didn't want to really fulfill that promise. Chassidy hated the sight of blood because she always said it made her feel sick. Cari never held that against her, and tried to keep her from focusing on it whenever possible. She had to stop herself before she made her friend completely sick to her stomach. But the toll of having waited as long as she did to think of going out for a meal was almost too great to resist.

Chassidy suddenly realized that when Cari said she might bite her, it wasn't some idle threat. There was a very good chance that threat might become a reality. She'd read way too much to think it was just her own eyes playing tricks on her—her eyes were turning as red as blood. And the speed at which her friend moved was inhuman. The only explanation that Chassidy had was that Cari was now a vampire. Although why, she wasn't completely certain. Still, she was certain that she was now at the mercy of her friend.

"Joke's on me, then…" She tried to make light of the situation, but she was still terrified. Anyone in their right mind would be, and even she wasn't crazy enough not to be.

"I told you to leave", said Cari, doing her best not to bite the minute she opened her mouth. Her vision became even more blurry as her eyes watered some. She couldn't take it anymore—the blood was tempting, and it had been far too rainy that previous night.

Chassidy was about to speak again, but Cari's face was already buried into her neck. The next thing she knew, a pair of sharp fangs were sinking into it and causing her more pain than she'd been through before. She tried not to look—the last thing she wanted was to see her own blood. In the end, she just closed her eyes tightly and waited for Cari to stop. After all, she really couldn't stop her. She could only trust Cari to stop before permanent damage was done.

Though she had to admit, with or without the strength to do so, she still wanted to pull away. In the past, Cari had said breaking her arm had hurt far worse than anything she'd been through before. She'd wailed at the pain in her arm. This—and Chassidy wasn't sure how much a broken bone really hurt—had to be at least ten times worse. But this was different in yet another way. Chassidy felt nauseated to the point she didn't even have the strength to scream. Though she knew part of that was only because of the fact she was aware of what her friend was doing.

After what felt like an eternity of drinking her friend's blood, she pulled away enough to heal the wound she'd made. She was ok for now—they both were. Cari wasn't in need of any blood for a little while longer, and she hadn't taken enough blood to really do any severe damage. Still, because of the fact she did hurt Chassidy, she couldn't even look at her. Tears formed and quickly fell.

Chassidy took deep breath and opened her eyes. She couldn't see any blood, so that helped a little. But she still knew what had happened, and it only served to make her feel sick. She wasn't sickened by her friend—she could understand the situation when she thought about it. What made her sick was knowing what had happened.

"I'm sorry", Cari said brokenly as the tears began to flow faster. She began to ball her hands into fists. "I... I just..."

"Vampire", Chassidy said quietly. Although she was certain Cari could still hear her, especially this close. She was well aware that she was crying into her neck, but really couldn't keep the word from coming out.

Cari felt bitter with herself as soon as Chassidy spoke. "I'm—"

"If you start getting all depressed on me over one bite, I may just find that splinter and kill you with it", Chassidy said bluntly. After a second, she sighed. "You might as well look at me at this point." She regretted it as Cari looked up, feeling even more queasy now. Still, it wasn't like there was any avoiding it.

"You didn't fight me", Cari stated, trying to understand what her friend was thinking.

"You think there's anything I could have done", she retorted. "Do I look like I carry wooden stakes all the time?"

Cari looked at her friend oddly. "No."

"Just don't do that again", said Chassidy. Why wasn't she running to the bathroom to throw up in the toilet yet?

"S—" Cari stopped herself before she could apologize. Chances were that Chassidy, while probably not serious about that splinter, would tear into her for it. "Then you'd better keep fair distance from me when you want to wake me up."

"In my defense, I didn't know you were a vampire", said Chassidy.

Cari sighed, gloom once again taking over. "Point made", she said.

"And you ruined my shirt."

"Sorry", said Cari. She wiped her eyes and mouth with the back of her hand, though only to smear the blood worse. "Just find some in my dresser, and I'll let you have one. After you get cleaned up."

Chassidy turned to leave the room, but paused and looked back at Cari, somewhat worried. "I won't turn into a vampire in the next day or so, will I", she asked. The last thing she needed was to constantly feel sick.

"No, you won't", said Cari. "Tell me if Dad's out there before you go into the bathroom, too. I don't want to explain exactly why I bit you to him. And yes, he knows."

"Fine", Chassidy said, walking over to the door. She opened it a crack and peered out. "All clear. The bathroom's the first door on the left, right?"

After having cleaned up completely, gotten changed, and Cari telling Chassidy what happened during summer break, they made their way out to the kitchen. Cari, acting still tired, wearing a moss green short-sleeved shirt and black skirt, her hair for once down, and her headphones currently holding it back like a headband. And Chassidy, now in Cari's old navy blue short-sleeved shirt.

"Morning, Dad", Cari said, glancing at him at the table as she went to make her coffee.

"I see you finally decided to get up", Vexen said, picking up the paper and opening it. "And Chassidy, didn't I tell you not to go back there and pull that little stunt of yours? Don't think I didn't hear everything that happened back there."

Chassidy growled. "I was really hoping you didn't", she said.

Cari sighed and sat down at the table, taking a sip of her coffee. "Sit down, Chassidy", she said.

Chassidy nodded and sat down beside Cari. "Ok, so you heard all that", she said. "When did it become so hard to get her up in the morning?"

"After Jr. high started", Cari said, answering before Vexen could. "And like I said before, never pull that stunt again."

Chassidy raised her hands in defense. "Fine, I got it. Not happening again."

"Good", Cari said, taking another sip of coffee. "And you don't plan to tell anyone, do you?"

"No, of course not", said Chassidy. "You're still my friend. Just... scarier than before."

"Good." Cari chuckled dryly. "Then I won't have to take the time to rewrite your memory of this morning."

Chassidy's eye twitched a bit as she stared at Cari disbelief. "You would have done that to me?! Your best friend?!"

Cari rolled her eyes. "If I had to, yes. And don't be quite so loud when you're right beside me", she said. "So are you actually starting school today instead of tomorrow?"

"Yes", said Chassidy. "My stuff's by the door, too."

"Ok", said Cari. "Let's just hope you didn't park it in the middle of the doorway again."

Everyone quickly looked over in the direction of the front door as they heard a slight crash of books and someone hitting the floor. That would figure.

"Uh... oops?" Chassidy gave Cari a nervous look.

Cari looked back at Chassidy and raised her eyebrow. "Are you serious", she asked her, half worried about whoever tripped over the stuff her friend had so sloppily tossed down, and half amused that it hadn't changed one bit.

She sighed and stood up, heading over there to see precisely who had fallen. And of course the victim was none other than Yuki, who was now sprawled on the floor, her head laying sideways on some books. It was actually quite amusing. No doubt Yuki was irritated, likely from having to deal with that on top of everything else going on.

"I'm ok", Yuki called out a little loudly. She sat up on her legs and sighed, straightening out her shirt. "You didn't happen be the one to leave this stuff here in the middle of the doorway, did you?"

Cari looked over at the backpack behind Yuki. And ironically, it was just like hers. That was going to get very confusing if she didn't mark her own soon. However hers was in one of the chairs in the living room. "No, it's not mine", she said. She watched as Yuki shrugged and started to gather her loose books and backpack of her own. "Chassidy left that stuff here in the middle of the doorway. She does that without thinking sometimes."

Yuki stood up and gave a confused look to Cari. "I thought you said she wasn't moving until today."

"That's what I thought, too", said Cari. She frowned darkly. "Well, until she pulled a little stunt, anyway. And apparently, my luck is shit now."

"Hey, you're the one who it's now hell getting out of bed for", Chassidy said, coming up beside Cari. "And it's not my fault your temper got worse."

Cari looked at Chassidy and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, well it's your fault for that stunt earlier."

Yuki gave them both an even more confused look. "What stunt?"

Chassidy looked at Yuki, and back at Cari nervously. Her expression seemed to ask the question, 'Does she know?'

Cari looked at Yuki, and then back at Chassidy. "She knows what I am, yes", she said. She looked back at Yuki. "Someone attempted to pull the blanket off me this morning. And somehow, got a small cut on her wrist that drove me a little nuts. Apparently there's a splinter on my bed somewhere? But she tried to do it again, after I tried to warn her."

Yuki blinked, and then frowned. "You've really got to stop waiting like that. What if something happened after you waited over a week and forced you to wait even longer?"

"Don't worry about me", said Cari. "I can take care of myself just fine." She turned to Chassidy and scowled. "And you shouldn't have even lied about when you were coming in the first place! So it technically leads back to being your fault!"

Chassidy's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly raised her hands defensively. "Sorry", she said, almost a bit whiney. "I told you, parents orders!"

Yuki sighed and her forehead met her hand in aggravation. "Don't scare her. She didn't know what would happen." She sighed, and smiled again. "Oh, I'm Yuki Harada, by the way", she said to Chassidy.

Chassidy looked at Yuki. "Chassidy James", she said, smiling nervously, which she rarely ever did. It was probably the effect Yuki had on others, though. "Nice you meet you."

"Will you three go now", Vexen shouted from the kitchen. "You're going to be late if you don't start moving."

"Yes, Dad", Cari called back, going to get her backpack and coming back to Chassidy and Yuki. She opened the door, after Chassidy gathered her things. "Let's go." She sighed inwardly. Nothing seemed to want to go her way right now.

As they all walked out the door, Chassidy gave Cari a worried look. "What do you mean about your luck being shit?"

Cari glanced at Chassidy out of the corner of her eye briefly, then looked back out front of them. "I mean your parents picked a really bad time to move", she sighed. "I told you about this summer, so you understand my lack of luck there."

Chassidy nodded. "I get that. But why is now so bad for you", she asked.

Yuki glanced to the side for a brief second. "Well, my older brother was attacked recently", she said, looking at Chassidy now. Her expression was sullen. "By a vampire. And now we're starting to look for who did it. They have to be at school, because that's where it happened."

Chassidy's face paled a bit. "Yikes... He's ok, though, right? I mean, he's not in the same situation as Cari, right?"

Yuki smiled a bit. "He's perfectly fine now", she said. "A bit frazzled, still. And a little nervous around Cari and Larx, but fine."

"Larx", Chassidy asked nervously. "You mean Larxene? From Cari's camp?"

"Yeah", said Cari. "He's even nervous around Xion. And she's not even a vampire. She's a sorceress. He feels safe around Xigbar, though. Then again, he's a Hunter."

Chassidy gave Cari a confused look.

"We'll explain later", said Cari. "I originally wanted to keep you out of the problem, since I didn't exactly plan on you finding out my little secret, though."

Chassidy raised an eyebrow. "Little secret? What's little about it? You're a vampire", she said in a hushed tone. "I'd say that's a big secret."

Cari rolled her eyes and growled inwardly. "Whatever."

"But anyway, you're problem", Chassidy stated. "I'll help."

Both Cari and Yuki stopped right in front of Chassidy and turned. They gave a collective, "No!"

Chassidy stopped and frowned. "Why not?"

Cari felt her eye twitch a little. "There's a good chance someone might get hurt, and I don't want you around to see it or be that person getting hurt."

Chassidy crossed her arms. "Come on, what could happen?"

"That's the last question you ask in such a situation", said Yuki. "I asked that once, and it left me with problems I'd rather not talk about."

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14-Convoluted Events

**Things actually pick up a little more. And Kairi... Well, at least she dragged Axel along. But anyway, this arc, for lack of a better term, doesn't take too long when compared to others. What it's here to do is lead into something else that's very important. It will also become apparent relatively soon that there's more going on with Cari's emotions than just being a vampire. And by relatively soon, I mean around chapter twenty. By then, more characters will be introduced, including one of my favorites of Final Fantasy VII fame.**

**Anywho, happy reading and please review. I keep saying it, but for some reason, the only review I ever got was in regards to the rating system.**

Chapter 14: Convoluted Events

"Cari. Oh, Cari", Kairi chimed, poking Cari's shoulder repeatedly, as she sat down by her at lunch that day.

Cari was sitting there, by Zexion of course, when the pinkette had suddenly decided to sit down beside her. Cari had her head rested on her arms on the table, her eyes closed. She was feeling quite stressed, and very tired. She groaned as Kairi continued to poke her.

"Earth to Cari", she called again. She stopped poking her for a second, just long enough to blink a few times, and frowned, going back to poke her more. "Are you asleep?"

Cari's eye twitched. "Stop poking me", she said. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Cari, it's lunch time", said Kairi. She paused again. "Are you turning into a vampire? You stay up at night and sleep during the day. And you're white as a sheet sometimes."

"Earth to Kairi, I've always been kind of pale. And no, I'm not turning into a vampire", Cari sighed. She already was a vampire.

"Then no trying to sleep during lunch", Kairi persisted. She stopped poking her again, and pulled out a small bag. "I've got some Cheetos if you'll get up."

Cari finally sat up, never failing to hear the name of her favorite snack. "Fine, fine." She looked at Kairi, who happily handed over the bag of Cheetos, which she promptly opened and started eating. "So what's up?"

"Do you think vampires sparkle like in Twilight", Kairi asked.

Cari stared at her friend for a long second before laughing. "Are you serious", she asked, almost choking on one of the Cheetos.

Kairi frowned. "Yes. Now answer my question."

Cari calmed down, stopping her laughter. "Nah, they wouldn't sparkle like in Twilight", she said. "The sparkling is a little silly, anyway."

"You say that like you know they exist", said Zexion. "And even if they do, we wouldn't know, would we?"

Cari looked over at Zexion and smiled sweetly. "No, we wouldn't know. Humans wouldn't know a lot of things. If vampires really do exist." She pulled out another of the Cheetos and fiddled it, giving a sly smirk. "And who knows, maybe they do. And maybe there's vampires in this school."

"Maybe", said Xigbar.

"Hey, why don't we try and find out if there are actually vampires at the school", asked Kairi, suddenly getting a bit hyped up. "Then we could find out what a real vampire is like."

Everyone stared at Kari once she finished speaking, surprised by her sudden suggestion. Though, some were more scared by the suggestion than others. After all, most of them thought the possibility of vampires being real was slim to none. Any who knew otherwise were just shocked she had the guts to think of such a crazy plan. After all, regardless of already knowing two vampires, there was the chance she'd find one and get seriously injured.

Roxas was the first to speak up. "Wouldn't that be dangerous? I mean, we might get hurt if we do try."

"Roxy's right", said Yuki. "Vampires are dangerous. And I doubt we could find one in the first place. Even if they were standing right in front of us. We might just never notice."

"Even someone at this table could be a vampire and we wouldn't know it", Roxas asked nervously.

"Maybe", said Chassidy. "But like Yuki said, none of us would really know. Except whoever actually is a vampire."

"But we could still try to find some", Kairi persisted. "I say we do try. Otherwise we'll never know if they actually do exist."

"You sure you want to do that", Cari asked, almost panicky. "I don't think it's a good idea." She watched as all eyes fell on her. "I'm worried that something will happen to one of us if we do try."

"I must agree with Cari", said Zexion. "As curious as I am, it is dangerous. Anything could happen."

Kairi pouted. "Well, I still want to find out", she said.

Cari sighed, frowning deeply. "No, Kairi", she said. "Forget about trying to find vampires. It wouldn't end well anyway. There's too much risk in it. And I, for one, would rather not see you get hurt."

Kairi frowned. "You sound like a mom. Don't worry about me so much", she said stubbornly.

Cari rolled her eyes. "Don't be thick, Kairi", she said. "If you get hurt or into trouble, there's no guarantee someone is going to come and save you."

"I'll take my chances", said Kairi.

Cari's eye twitched again, but she sighed. "Fine, do what you will", she said in defeat, though hardly happy. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

"And I'll start with the forest tonight", she said.

Cari grumbled a little, but went about eating the rest of her lunch. If Kairi wasn't going to listen to reason, then she'd just have to keep an eye on her. After all, there was the chance that she could get hurt. And at least it didn't interfere too much with her plan, since they were going to the same place. And if Cari was really lucky, which she did sincerely doubt, Kairi might lead her to the vampire who had attacked Demyx. Although the only problem with that would be if the vampire happened to be feeling hostile.

"Come with me", Kairi said eagerly.

Axel looked at Kairi suspiciously. "I'm going to help you find a vampire so you can see what they're like?"

Kairi nodded, having explained her crazy plan to the older teenager. "I need someone to protect me, and Sora just got grounded."

Axel didn't like that idea. It was far too risky. But who was he to tell her not to go? He'd done plenty of risky things in the past, and was certain he had done something that got him into a frightening situation or two. And even if he didn't go with her, she was likely to go into the forest So in the end, it would just be better if he did go with her, if only to drag her home if things got dangerous. After all, it was the forest where someone had apparently died from an attack of some kind. He didn't want a repeat of that with one of his friends.

"If it gets dangerous, we're going home", said Axel.

Kairi smiled brightly. "Thanks Axel."

"So Chassidy knows", Xigbar asked, arms crossed and holding an old rifle in one hand.

Cari stood outside the forest with Xigbar, Xion, Larxene, Yuki, and Demyx, all dressed in their coats. It was well past dark now, and no one was around. But Yuki and Demyx were still nervous, even with the others reassuring them they were alone. They hadn't been convinced, particularly Yuki. Apparently, she'd had some kind of experience in thinking she was alone when she wasn't.

"Yes", Cari said, matter-of-factly.

"And she won't tell anyone", asked Xion.

"No", said Cari. "She won't. She doesn't like the idea of anyone, or even me, for that matter, messing with her head."

"Wait, how did she even find out", Demyx asked warily.

Cari glanced away from everyone briefly, and then looked at Demyx. "She pulled a little stunt this morning that put me into a... really sticky situation. And neither of us liked it."

"Oh, so you..." Demyx hesitated a few seconds. "You bit her?"

"Yeah", said Cari.

"Ok Cari, I trust you", said Xion. "But be careful with that."

Car bit her lip slightly. "Yeah, but... I don't like to alter people's memories. It just makes me feel weird."

"Then you just need to get used to it", said Xion. "And what about Kairi? What if she finds out?"

Cari paused for a minute. "I know she can't find out", she said finally. "But I don't want to have to do that."

"And why didn't you keep her from deciding to come here tonight", asked Xion.

"So… Why are we at the forest", Demyx asked, suddenly changing the subject. After what had happened to Cari, he really wasn't sure he wanted to go into the forest at night.

"It's the best place we have right now", said Xigbar. "A lot of vampires and such like to be in the forest at night. Hunting or just hanging out."

Cari nodded. "Meaning there's a chance that we'll find the vampire who attacked Demyx. And I want to keep an eye on Kairi."

"You want to protect her", said Larxene.

"What else", asked Cari. "It's dangerous."

Xion crossed her arms. "Which is why it would have been better to keep her from coming out in the first place."

"You think I don't know that", Cari retorted. "Don't you think I tried?"

"Did you try manipulating her into not coming", asked Xion.

Cari opened her mouth to speak again, but could say nothing. She'd completely forgotten to try that. How would she explain that? Then again, she didn't have any experience with it, so she couldn't very well say she would succeed at it. Besides, she'd eventually figured Kairi might end up helping them with the issue. But then, she couldn't very well say that, either. They would easily give her the riot act for such things.

"She may just have to find out the hard way, then", she said instead. "I'm going to keep an eye on her, so I won't let anything happen." She turned towards the forest to leave, but paused as someone said something first.

"Are you going alone", asked Larxene.

"I might as well", said Cari.

"I'll go with you", said Yuki.

Cari looked back at the blond. "No", she said. "If something happens, I'll have enough of a time protecting Kairi when I find her to protect you as well. Stay with the others. Don't feel you need to come with me. You don't. In fact, you and Demyx go home now. Risking one friend's safety is bad enough. I will not have more at risk." She looked at Xigbar and her eyes narrowed, regardless of them not being able to see her expression. "Escort them home."

"What? No! Cari, don't be stupid! I'm not going home now! I'm going to help you find her! She's my friend, too", Yuki said, softer than before.

Xigbar sighed, and looked away. "No", he said. He looked back at Cari. "Yuki's right. She's our friend, too."

Cari growled. "I understand this", she said. "But I'm the one who let her do this in the first place. It's my fault. My problem, I take care of it. No one else."

"You idiot", said Yuki. "You can't do everything by yourself! Let us help you. That's what friends are for, right? They help each other."

Cari scowled darkly at Yuki. "But sometimes they need to mind their own damn business."

"Cari, I agree", said Larxene. "Let us help you."

Cari's attention snapped over to Larxene, slightly surprised.

"I say we split up", she said. "You can go find Kairi, as well as looking for that vampire. The rest of us will search elsewhere for the vampire."

"It'd be a lot easier", said Xigbar.

"Yeah", said Demyx.

"I agree", said Xion.

Cari looked away again.

"Come on, Cari", said Yuki. "You know you can't do it alone. So don't be so stubborn."

Cari looked back at her friends. "Alright, fine", she said, conceding. "We'll all split up. Xigbar, you look after Demyx. Xion, you take Yuki. Larxene, you'll have to do your part alone."

Everyone nodded.

"Good", Cari said, turning back to the forest. "Then we'll meet back here."

Cari flitted off into the forest, leaving her friends to go their ways. She sighed, looking back. She knew her friends would be ok. But she was still worried. But she also knew everyone was worried. She wasn't sure how she knew, she just did. Not that it mattered—she had work to do now. She had to find Kairi and make sure she was safe. This time, she'd make sure she went home. If she had to, she'd escort her there personally.

She slowed down as she heard someone talking. It sounded like Kairi, but she couldn't be sure at the moment. Well, until she got closer at least. So she moved silently through the trees, inching closer to the voice. Glancing around one of the trees, she came across Kairi, of course. But she wasn't alone. To her surprise, Axel was with her. She must have talked him into going to keep her some company in case she found nothing. Cari supposed that it made sense—it would probably be a lonely night.

But there was also another girl with her, and a pair of boys. She quietly listened in on what they were saying. If anything happened, she would intervene.

"You said you were looking for something," one of the boys, a little heavy-set and had messy dark brown hair, asked.

"Yeah", said Kairi. "I'm trying to see if I can find vampires." She looked at Axel, who was leaning against a tree.

He nodded. "I'm here keeping her company", he said simply. He then went completely silent.

The girl, who had brown hair, some of it flipped out a bit, looked at her companions nervously, and then back at Kairi. "Are you sure you should be doing that? It's not safe."

"You sound like my friends", said Kairi. "One in particular, actually. But I'll be fine. I'm sure of it."

"Hey, no", the other boy, who had very light brown hair, said. "You should go home now. Olette's right. It's not safe. You should be asleep."

"Yeah, we were just about to head home ourselves", said the heavy-set boy.

"But I just started looking", Kairi protested. "I want to meet a real vampire."

"No", Olette said, now very determined. "You have to go home." She looked at the light brown haired boy. "Hayner, make sure they get home safely. It's not safe to be here at night."

Hayner nodded. "Come on", he said, grabbing Kairi's arm. He started to pull her towards Axel and grabbed the tall boy as well. He lead them over to where Cari stood hiding.

Axel's eyes widened in surprise. The boy was a lot stronger than he looked.

"If it's dangerous, why are you three out here this late", Kairi retorted, attempting to stop Hayner from pulling her and Axel.

"She has a point", said Axel. He dug the heels of his feet into the dirt to try and slow Hayner down.

Hayner stopped, his eyes widening slightly. "We, uh..." He trailed off.

Cari frowned. She had to agree—Kairi had a point there. They didn't need to be out this late, either. Unless, of course, they weren't human. Which they weren't. They were also vampires, which meant that whether she realized it yet or not, Kairi found what she was looking for. The only problem was whether or not they were really going to try and get them home safely.

"Well", Kairi asked.

"It's not important", said Hayner, now beginning to pull Kairi again.

Cari reluctantly stepped out from behind the tree to look at them all. There was no point hiding, and one of them was the one who hurt Demyx. She had to confront them about it, regardless of what happened next.

"Hey, who are you", Hayner snapped defensively, stopping and looking at Cari.

Cari remained silent.

"You here to cause trouble", Hayner snapped again. "'Cause we don't want any!"

"Hey, Hayner, stop", the other boy said, going to pull the other boy back.

"Pence, get back. You know you've been having issues lately", said Hayner. He let go of Kairi and Axel, preparing to fight if he had to. "Tell us who you are, and what you want here, girl."

Kairi's eyes widened and she backed away, going over to stand with Olette. "Who are you?"

Cari looked at Kairi, and then at Hayner again.

Axel opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't find the words. This was turning out to be more than he bargained for.

"Say something", said Olette, reaching her arms around Kairi, as if to protect. her. "Don't just stand there! Tell us your name."

"My name is not important", Cari said finally.

Axel coughed a little in surprise. He knew he'd heard that voice many times before, but he couldn't remember where or when. With what was going on at the moment, he couldn't really recall much more than the fact it was supposed to be very familiar.

"Then get out of here", Hayner snapped. "Unless you want a fight!"

Cari tilted her head a bit. "A fight? Sounds interesting. I've never really fought many other vampires in a real fight."

Kairi gasped, and her eyes widened. "You're all... vampires?"

Axel quickly made his way over to Kairi and carefully pulled her away from Olette. He didn't know who among them could be trusted, but he wasn't taking his chances. Kairi had asked him to go with her for protection, and protection was what he was going to give her.

"Hey, don't fight", said Pence. "We were just about to get this girl home." He ran up to Cari. "Come on, miss. I don't want anyone getting hurt here."

Cari remained silent for a moment, analyzing his scent. "Oh, like you didn't want to hurt my friend", she asked, taking a chance. "You know, he's got a dirty blond mullet hair-style. It happened at school in the boy's bathroom. What happened? You should have been able to heal my friend easily. Any vampire should be able to do that much."

Kairi blinked. "Who are you?"

Axel opened his mouth to add his own two cents, but couldn't find the words. Of course he knew who she was now. But why was she here babbling on so insanely? He was under the impression that she thought looking for vampires was too dangerous. Now she was implying she was one? If this was some sick practical joke set up to scare someone, probably Kairi, it definitely wasn't very funny.

Olette now looked at Pence. "Pence", she said, drawing out his name. "What happened?"

"Demyx was really scared", said Cari. "That morning on the first day of school."

Kairi glanced around at everyone worriedly. "Something happened to Demyx?" She looked at Cari. "And... how do you know Demyx? Who are you?"

"Oh, he's your friend", Pence asked, fear now pulsing from him.

"Yeah, he's my friend", said Cari.

"Someone tell me what's going on." Kairi looked at Cari. "Tell me who you are", she snapped.

Cari looked over at Kairi. "You want to know who I am?"

Kairi nodded.

"It's not that important", said Cari.

Kairi looked down slightly.

Cari sighed. "But if you'd really like to know, I suppose letting you see my face wouldn't be too bad."

Kairi drew in a sharp breath and looked back up at Cari.

"At least, temporarily", said Cari. "I'm not supposed to allow you to remember who I am. I'll have to alter your memory."

Kairi looked away from Cari for a brief second. "Ok, fine", she said, looking back.

"And what about me", Axel finally asked. "I'm a witness."

Cari looked up at Axel and tilted her head. "Well, that all depends on what gives. With the both of you, actually." She pulled down her hood, revealing a rather irritated expression.

"Cari", Kairi gasped, quickly covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes widened. "But I thought you said..."

Axel knew it was Cari after so many hints had been given earlier, but he still couldn't help looking surprised.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette now all stared at Cari. Pence still in fear, and Hayner and Olette in shock.

"You should not have come out tonight", Cari said sternly. "You could have gotten hurt. And I'd rather not see a friend go through the same thing I did before." She paused. "Almost dying is not a fun experience, Kairi. I don't want anyone I care about going through something like that. Though I'm glad you at least thought to ask someone to come along and protect you."

"Then last summer, you...", Kairi trailed off.

"You're the reason for that investigation", said Hayner. He balled his hands into fists. "Are you going to do anything about it?! They still haven't stopped it, you know!"

Cari closed her eyes for a brief second. "What could I do about it", she asked. "All of us here know I can't do anything about it without revealing what happened." She watched as everyone sighed.

"You're right", said Olette. "You can't."

Axel muttered to himself before speaking aloud. "I guess that explains why no bodies were found…"

Cari nodded. "Now, back to Demyx", she said, anger rising in her voice a bit. "Explain yourself."

Pence flinched. "I... I'm sorry", he cried out, shutting his eyes closed tightly, as tears began to form. "I don't know what happened! I don't remember what I did that morning!"

Axel looked between the four vampires trying to figure out what was going on. "Wait… I'm missing something. How can you not remember what you did?"

"He's been having memory lapses since half-way through the summer", Olette explained. "We don't know what he's doing, and neither does he."

"Did I really do that", Pence asked in desperation.

"Your scent is on Demyx still", said Cari. Her eyebrow had been raised for the duration of the explanation. "So that's the only logical conclusion."

"Logic", Kairi laughed nervously. "This doesn't sound like anything that has to do with logic…"

"I thought you would have thrown logic out the window by now", Hayner retorted. When Kairi looked taken aback, he sighed. "It's been a long week…"

Cari crossed her arms. "This isn't getting us very far. Can either of you say for certain that he's been acting strange?"

Hayner looked back at Cari, still clearly annoyed. "Of course. On at least three occasions, he's gone into a trance and just walked off on us."

Cari couldn't really argue, because whether or not they were just trying to protect their friend, she didn't want to be the bad guy. Pence had also looked genuinely confused when confronted with what had taken place. And while all she really had was their word to go on, she was inclined to believe them. Never mind the fact that she was still irritated with the entire situation, they also had procedures to perform. At least, Xigbar did. Whether or not he decided it best to drag them along with him, she didn't know.

"Look, whether we like it or not, the fact is that you still attacked Demyx in a public place", said Cari. "There are consequences to that. I'm not saying it didn't happen like you said, but I want—"

"What's the commotion over here?"

Cari sighed, turning around to face whoever was behind her, paying little mind to the uneasiness from the other three vampires. "Oh, what wonderful timing", she quipped. "Maybe now you can be of some help."

Xigbar rolled his one good eye. "Oh, funny."

Axel looked at Xigbar and pointed dumbly, but shook his head and lowered his hand. This really wasn't the time to be asking questions he already knew the answers to. He quickly opted for something else. "Are we going to figure out what's going on or just stand here making snappy comebacks?"

To Be Continued


End file.
